


Because of the Layers 2 - Happily Ever After ?

by hazelandglasz, thelilacfield



Series: Because of the Layers Verse [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Shrek AU, cross-over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 21:41:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1111818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelandglasz/pseuds/hazelandglasz, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelilacfield/pseuds/thelilacfield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that Blaine is free from the curse, can he get his happily ever after with Kurt ?<br/>Nah, didn't think so</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because of the Layers 2 - Happily Ever After ?

_Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, the king and vizier were blessed with a beautiful baby boy, and throughout the land everyone was happy, until the sun went down, and they saw that their protégé was cursed with a frightful enchantment that took hold each and every night. Desperate, they sought the help of a fairy godmother, who had them lock the young prince away in a tower, there to await the kiss of the handsome Prince Charming. It was he who would chance the perilous journey through blistering cold and scorching desert, traveling for many days and nights, risking life and limb to reach the dragon’s keep, for he was the bravest, and most handsome in all the land, and it was destiny that his kiss would break the dreaded curse._

As he pushed the doors to Carmel High open, Adam shook his head to let his hair breathe a little. When Cassandra, as the Kingdom’s almighty powerful ‘godmother’, had sent him in a quest to free the Lost Warbler from Vocal Adrenaline, he hadn’t really think about the dangers of the quest. All he thought about was the added dazzle this would give to his reputation as NYADA’s Prince Charming.

Though it was pretty weird, now that he took his environment into consideration: wasn’t there supposed to be some sort of choir leader, a ‘dragon’ to fight to gain access to the aforementioned Warbler? Anyway, everybody knows where a kidnapped Warbler is hidden: the auditorium.

Adam walked confidently in the halls, the emblem from the New York school clearing the path around him better than any weapon. He finally reached the auditorium, hearing someone singing. A smirk stretched his lips, and he pulled out a mint to freshen up his breath - even a true love’s first kiss wouldn’t forgive a case of bad breath.

The sight that welcomed him, however, was not what he expected. When he had heard about a Warbler being kept at Carmel, he had thought ‘dapper’ and ‘gentleman’ and ‘cute blazers’.

Not a Mohawk, and torn jeans under…was that a _dress_?

“Warbler Blaine?” he asked, doubt lacing every letter. He was ready to kiss the lost Warbler - and while he had been expecting a dapper boy, he could go for a badboy with a slight gender confusion. He was a responsible NYADA Prince, after all.

The boy let out a barking laugh. “God, no.”

Adam let his shoulders slump and a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank heavens,” he let out before frowning at the other man who was looking at him with a wolfish smile. “Where is he then?”

The boy huffed a laugh as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Still in the honeymoon phase.”

Now that caught Adam’s attention (away from said arms, that is). “Honeymoon?” he exclaimed in shock. “With whom?!”

* * *

“So that’s McKinley, huh?”

Blaine stood in front of the school building, hands on his hips. Kurt was by his side, itching to get closer, to show his support in what he knew was a gigantic step for his little Warbler.

“I know it’s not much,” Kurt said, bumping his shoulder with Blaine’s to give him what little comfort he could, “but it’s home - so to speak.”

“Our home,” Blaine replied, a small smile stretching his lips.

“Our home,” Kurt repeated, brushing his fingers with Blaine’s, if even just for a brief moment. “Just you and me and-”

_“Twooooo can be as bad as one…”_

Kurt looked to his right, and sure enough, Rachel was walking closer to them, her usual preppy outfits replaced by what could only be described as depressing pajamas, her ears covered with headphones and - was that a bowl of cereal?

“Rachel?!”

She looked up, throwing the bowl away under their disbelieving gaze. “Kurt! Blaine! Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes!”

Blaine leaned over to whisper in Kurt’s ear. “There is something that is causing me sore eyes right there,” before straightening up to step aside as Rachel threw herself at Kurt.

“Give us a hug, Kurt, you old love machine,” she exclaimed, and Kurt let himself be hugged, throwing a desperate look at Blaine who raised in hands in defense. “And look at you, Mr. Anderson-Hummel,” she added, turning to Blaine who looked suddenly like a deer caught in a car’s headlight, “how about some of your sugar for the bestie?”

Before Blaine could say anything, Rachel was throwing her arms around his waist to pull him into a bone-crushing hug.

“Rachel!” he finally managed to say, pushing her away as gently as he could, “I thought you were going on a tour with Jesse - what are you doing here?”

Rachel looked down, playing with the messy braid she had made with her hair. “Oh, yeah, that - I don’t know, really. We were doing good, you know, singing and dancing around the clock like we were the second coming of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, and out of the blue,” she said, her voice turning hard and desperate in true Rachel Berry fashion, “he decided that he wanted to go to _UCLA_ , to get a _degree_ , and that I had to go with him but I’m in high school, Kurt,” she cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at Kurt, who wondered if he had to leave, “I can’t just drop out!”

Trying to diffuse the tension - and to avoid a weeping Rachel - Blaine put a hand on her shoulder. “You know we’re always happy to see you, Rachel,” he said soothingly and Rachel turned wide, teary eyes at him, “but you have to understand that we might want to have a little time to, you know, be together.”

Rachel wiped her eyes with her sleeve and nodded at Blaine. “Of course.”

“Just with each other,” Blaine insisted, shuffling to be closer to Kurt.

‘Huh-huh,” Rachel nodded again, seemingly unaware that she was literally standing between them.

“Alone?”

This should have been the final nail in her head, and she nodded with a serious look on her face. “Say no more,” Rachel said, patting Blaine and Kurt on their shoulders, “You don’t have to worry about a thing.”

Blaine looked at Kurt with a relieved smile, but Kurt still looked suspicious.

“I will always be there to make sure that nobody is bothering you.”

And there it was, just like he expected - Kurt should have warned Blaine, but at this point, he thought that he knew his friend better.

“Rachel!” he exclaimed, rubbing his nose.

“Yes, bestie?” she asked softly with a toothy smile.

“ _You_ are bothering me - us.”

Blaine elbowed him with a frown - surely the Warbler was not entirely used to such a rude behavior, but this was the norm for Kurt and Rachel.

Rachel looked at him with something akin to disappointment before taking her braid back between her fingers. “Oh. Okay, that - that’s cool, I was going to hang out with that new TA, Brody, anyway. I’ll see you around lunch, or something?” she added with a sad smile before walking away, the sound of her shoes echoing in the parking lot.

“Kurt,” Blaine said, his voice chastising but Kurt looked around, making sure that the parking was empty, before pulling him closer.

“She’ll be fine,” he whispered, rubbing the tip of his nose against Blaine’s cheek. “Now, where were we?”

Blaine let out a little sigh that went straight through Kurt’s body. “Oh,” he let out, his fingers tightening around Kurt’s arms. “I think I remember…”

“Huh, guys?”

Kurt almost dropped Blaine at Rachel’s interruption, but just barely and he turned a furious face to his…ugh, best friend.

“Rachel!”

“I know, I know! Alooone!” she elongated the vowel to insist on her annoyance. “I’m going, but what do you want me to tell _these_ guys?”

Blaine and Kurt looked at each other with matching worriedly raised eyebrows.

Sure enough, in a shadowy part of the parking lot, men wearing Dalton’s crest on their shirts were lining up, humming rather regal music - all except for one of them who started humming something that sounded like _Teenage Dream_.

Their leader, who wore a jacket on top of his Dalton shirt, turned his head to wave at them to stop, aiming a particularly fierce frown at the ‘rebel’. “Enough, Trent,” he said, before pulling a tablet from a breast pocket.

“Dearest Warbler Blaine,” he started and Blaine took a step forward, his eyes shining a little at the sight. “You are hereby summoned to the Kingdom of New Dalton for a royal ball in celebration of your freedom, at which time the King will bestow his royal blessing upon you and your…” at that the leader stopped to look at Kurt, dressed in his black and white McQueen shirt and silver skinny jeans, the entire ensemble completed by a hippo brooch. “Ah...Prince Charming. Love, the King and Vizir of New Dalton, AKA, David and Wes.”

“Wes and David?” Kurt repeated, more than familiar with the names of the previous leaders of Dalton.

“Prince Charming?” Blaine repeated, with something akin to wonder in his voice.

“Royal ball?” Rachel repeated, excited and already arranging her hair to look, well, more human. “Can I come?!”

Kurt turned his head to look at Rachel and at Blaine. “We’re not going.”

Both opened wide eyes - the way they could sometimes look so much alike was frightening, really - and frowned at him. “What?!”

Kurt took a step back, trying for the diplomatic road. “Well, don’t you think they’re going to be a little shocked to see you,” he gestured at Blaine’s colorful attire, “like this?”

So much for diplomacy - Kurt never tried to pretend it was his strong suit, anyway.

Blaine rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed chuckle. “Well, they might be a bit surprised,” he admitted, before opening pleading eyes toward Kurt, “but they’re my mentors, Kurt. They love me.” Blaine opened his mouth, closed it again and took a step toward Kurt to put his hand on his shoulder. “And they’ll love you too, Kurt, I know it.”

Kurt smirked at Blaine and looked the other way. “Yeah, right. Given Sebastian and Hunter’s welcome party, I don’t think I’ll be welcomed to the country club.”

Blaine shook his head and put his hands on his hips, clearly disgruntled. “Stop it, Wes and David are not like that.”

Kurt pointed his thumb at the departing delegation. “Uh-huh - how do you explain Sergeant Pompous and the Fancy Pants Club Band?”

Rachel and the leader both muttered, “Rude,” but Blaine was not paying them any attention. “Oh come on, you could at least give them a chance!”

Kurt scoffed, pulling at his hair. “To do what? Throw us in gay rehab?”

Blaine looked horrified. “Of course not! They just want to give us their blessing!”

Kurt blinked before frowning. “Oh great. Now I need their blessing?”

Blaine frowned too. “If you want to be part of this family, well, yes!”

Rachel took a step back, pulling cereal bars from her pajama pockets - this was both horrifying and entertaining.

Kurt straightened up. “Who says I want to be part of this family?”

Blaine took a step forward, nose to nose with Kurt. “You did - when you brought me here!”

Kurt shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Well, there’s some fine print for you!”

Blaine opened his mouth before closing it with a snap. “So that’s it? You just won’t come?”

Kurt nodded firmly. “Trust me, honey, this is a bad idea. We are not going, and that’s final!”

* * *

“Come on, Kurt, we don’t want to be stuck in traffic!”

Kurt couldn’t believe that Blaine had managed to turn him and his opinion on their axis, and yet here they were, getting ready for another…

“Road trip, Kurt !” Rachel exclaimed as she smoothed down her pleated skirt. “Come on, why aren’t you more excited?”

Blaine was fixing his bow tie a few feet away and Kurt sighed. Why wasn’t he more excited? Gee, maybe because the last time he had been at Dalton, he had been welcomed by his best friend in rags and clearly there under duress? Insulted and ridiculed? Because he already thought that he wasn’t good enough for Blaine and he didn’t want him to rethink their relationship once he was back in his ‘natural habitat’?

Mercedes was by his side, rubbing circles on his back. “Don’t worry, Kurt,” she said soothingly, “we’ll take care of everything here - when you three come back, we’ll be ready for Nationals.” Behind her, Jake, Sam and Ryder nodded enthusiastically while Puck waved him off.

Well that was certainly comforting - not.

With another sigh, Kurt climbed behind the wheel. It was going to be a long road. If his GPS was to be trusted - and it was - New Dalton was far, far away from McKinley.

Almost all the way to New York.

“Alright!” Rachel bounced on the back seat. “For a moment I thought you weren’t going to wait for me,” she added, sticking her head between Kurt and Blaine.

Neither man said anything and she gulped. Time to start the road trip soundtrack then.

_“Hit it! Move ’em on! Head ’em up!_  
 _Head ’em up, move ’em on! Head ’em up!_  
 _Rawhide! Move ’em on!_  
 _Head ’em up!_  
 _Move ’em on! Move ’em on!_  
 _Head ’em up! Rawhiiiide!”_

Kurt looked in the rearview mirror, a stern look on his face. “Is this going to be up the whole trip?”

_“Rawhiiiiiiiiiide!”_

* * *

 

The trip was long, just like Kurt thought it would be.

What made it even longer - at least in feelings - was Rachel’s neverending questioning about their destination.

Blaine was observing the scenery, helping him navigate the many crossroads that were on their way and passing him snacks and beverages, but Rachel was anything but helpful.

“Are we there yet,” and, “I’m hungry,” and more, “Are we there yet,” followed by a strange attempt at mimicking _Cups_ by mouth, which really got on Kurt’s last nerve.

“Rach,” Blaine said warningly to stop her before Kurt would implode (or explode, really, there was no way of telling) and the girl blessfully stopped her popping.

For a short while, the only sound in the vehicle was the sound of the wheels on the road and then -

“Are we there yet?”

“Are we there yet?” Kurt repeated, in a pretty accurate imitation of Rachel’s voice. Rachel gasped and Blaine made a surprised noise.

“Oh that’s mature,” Rachel said with a pout, immediately followed by an epic eye roll when Kurt repeated that too.

By this point, Blaine was hiding his silent giggles behind his map and Kurt felt better about the whole trip. “Fine, I’m gonna just stop talking,” Rachel said, putting her nose up and Kurt threw his hands in the air for a millisecond in celebration.

“Finally!” he exclaimed, before mouthing a sheepish sorry at Blaine, who looked at him sternly for letting go of the wheel.

Rachel dropped her chin on Blaine’s headrest with a deep sigh. “It just takes so looong,” she moaned. “Are we th- are we any closer?” she amended when Kurt glared at her.

Before Kurt could start a full blown-out rant, though, Blaine looked up from the map and waved at the pair with a chuckle.

“Actually, yes!” he exclaimed, pointing ahead of them.

Sure enough, past the next curve on the road, a tall building surrounded by smaller ones stood out, bearing Dalton’s flag in the wind.

As they drove up the road, Kurt could see several people, students and professors, emerging from the smaller buildings to look at them. Rachel was ecstatic to finally be back to civilization and started waving at them, even winking at some of the students - Kurt shrugged it off as some sort of grieving process over her aborted relationship with Jesse.

“We’re definitely not at McKinley anymore,” he whispered as he looked at the squeaky clean cobblestones that paved the streets and the impeccable uniforms, feeling more and more inadequate.

Blaine was looking around him with wide eyes, his face a picture of childlike wonder, and Kurt could feel his heart melting at the sight. Even with all his apprehension and fears, if this trip could bring that smile on Blaine’s face, he would do it all over again, Rachel’s annoying comments and all.

Now, all he needed to do was the introduction to Blaine’s mentors, get their approval for them being together, and he could go back to his beloved McKinley.

* * *

 

In front of the school building’s entrance, David and Wes were anxiously standing, waiting for the black SUV to finish its climb up the streets leading to them.

“I can’t believe Blaine is finally back,” Wes whispered and David worried at his lower lip.

A crowd of students assembled next to them, on both sides of the doors, all whispering and humming as the car got closer and closer.

The choir director started organizing things and when the car stopped in front of the alley, David gulped. “This is it,” he said softly, giving the director a signal to start singing something that sounded suspiciously like Dalton’s old anthem.

“This is it,” the director said to himself, leading the New Dalton students in their harmonies.

“This is it,” Kurt told Blaine as they opened the doors to the car to get out.

As the crowd took Blaine’s more than unusual attire in, the crowd’s song dimmed out until only silence reigned over the courtyard.

Rachel had just opened her own door, and she seemed to hesitate all of a sudden. “Uh...why don't you guys go ahead?” she said, climbing back in the car and going over Kurt’s seat. “I’ll, uh, go and park the car.”

Kurt let out an embarrassed chuckle at being put in the spotlight like this. Any spotlight he would welcome with a content heart; this kind of spotlight, where the lights were more accusatory than flattering? No thanks.

“Sooo,” he whispered, elongating the vowel, “you still think this was a good idea?”

Blaine looked at him with a shy, happy smile. “Of course !” he replied. “Look - Wes and David look happy to see us!”

* * *

“Who on Earth are they?” David mumbled as they started walking toward the newcomers.

Wes cocked his head to the side and leaned to whisper back. “I think that’s our dapper Warbler.”

David looked at him like he had lost his mind. “That is not dapper!” he whisper-shouted. “That’s a very fairy problem!”

“Shhh,” Wes chastised him but David was unstoppable.

“Wasn’t he supposed to kiss his Prince Charming and break the spell?!” he asked, observing Blaine’s complete outfit: colors everywhere, suspenders and bow tie, goodness gracious, this was not the dapper Dalton prince they had left behind.

“Well,” Wes commented, his eyes trained on Kurt, “he’s no Prince Charming, but they do look…”

* * *

 

“Happy now ?” Kurt whispered angrily, eyeing the confused and borderline furious looks on the Warblers’ faces. “We came, we saw them. Now let’s go before they light their torches!”

Blaine scoffed at him and put a reassuring hand on Kurt’s forearm. “Come on, Kurt, they’re my mentors.”

Kurt looked at the two men approaching and didn’t feel reassured. “Hello? They shipped you off to Vocal Adrenaline!”

Blaine twisted his mouth in a light grimace before smiling once again. “That was only for my own…”

* * *

“Good!” David said, taking a step back before Wes grabbed his arm. “Here’s our chance - Let’s go back inside, and pretend we’re not home!”

Wes crooked one eyebrow at him in judgement. “David, we have to be…”

* * *

“Quick!” Kurt said, this close to turn away, his car be damned. “While they’re not looking, we can make a run for it!”

“Kurt, stop it,” Blaine retorted, slightly annoyed. “Everything is gonna be…”

* * *

“A disaster!” David retorted to Wes, on the verge of a panic attack. “There is no way…”

* * *

“You can do this,” Blaine reassured Kurt, his fingers tightening around Kurt’s hand.

Kurt sighed and looked at their joined hands. “I really…”

* * *

“Really…"

* * *

“Don’t…”

* * *

 

“Want…”

* * *

“To be…”

* * *

“Here!” David almost shouted as they finally reached the couple.

Blaine finally let go of Kurt’s hand to be closer to the two other men. “Wes, David,” he said, pulling them into a hug before taking a step closer to Kurt. “I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Kurt.”

Kurt took a step forward, ready to shake hands with the head Warblers before choosing to stand closer to Blaine. “Well, uh, it’s easy to see where Blaine got his fashion taste from,” he said with a weak chuckle, mentally slapping himself - hard.

He immediately regretted his lame attempt at a compliment when he met the glare aimed at him from the dark-skinned Warbler.

* * *

‘Nice’ could not describe dinner with the two head Warblers.

At least, Kurt could only speak for himself, but Blaine didn’t seem very comfortable either. To his defense, Wes didn’t look very comfortable either, but David…

The other Warbler was drilling holes in Kurt’s head with the strength of his glare, and Kurt wondered when David was going to use his cutlery on himself.

Blaine chuckled nervously before cutting his salad with the same knife Kurt was using - which was obviously a mistake, if David’s eyeroll was any indication.

“Excuse me,” Blaine hastened to apologize, changing his knife to the proper salad one, exchanging a look with Kurt.

“Whatever works, I always say, right Blaine?” Kurt said cheerfully, and Blaine laughed along with him - and for a minute, it felt like they were back at McKinley, just the two of them, happy and in love and without a care in the world…

Until David cleared his throat, shaking his head disapprovingly.

“What do you mean, ‘not on the list’?!”

They all looked up from their plates to stare at the door, behind which a commotion was taking place - and if anything Kurt and Blaine were very familiar with that voice.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am!”

On that particularly obnoxious sentence, the doors opened on a bang, presenting Rachel in all her glory. “What’s happening, everybody? Thanks for waiting,” she said, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “I had the hardest time finding a parking spot,” she explained, pulling a chair to sit on but David seemed to have reached his limit.

“No! No! No girls in the halls! Bad girl!” he exclaimed, waving his hand in Rachel’s surprised face.

Blaine rushed to Rachel’s defense. “No, David! It’s all right! She’s with us, she’s…a friend,” he explained, earning himself a grateful smile from Rachel. “She helped rescue me from Carmel,” he added with a wink to the girl.

“That’s me, the noble companion,” she said haughtily, returning Blaine’s wink. “Waiter!” she called, snapping her fingers in the air. “What about a plate for the noble companion?”

Wes decided that it was time to clear the air. “So, Blaine,” he said with a peacemaking smile, “tell us about where the two of you are studying now.”

Blaine looked at loss for words for a moment, but he made a quick recovery. “Well, Kurt is senior class president,” he said confidently and Kurt almost choked on his soup. “Aren’t you, honey?”

It took Kurt a second but he caught the worried look in Blaine’s eyes and he decided to play along. “Oh, yes,” he replied, copying Blaine’s nonchalance. “The election is very soon, but I should be elected without a glitch.”

Rachel let out a very undignified snort. “What?” she exclaimed, totally oblivious to Blaine’s desperate hand gestures to just be quiet. “I know you aren’t talking about the elections at McKinley, those Neanderthals may fear you but they’ll never vote for - oh,” she said before sobering up and burying her nose in her bowl of soup.

“A scary gay boy in a Neanderthalian school - how original,” David drawled out, picking at his food.

Desperate to bring peace at his dinner table - things were definitely sliding into undapper territory - Wes cleared his throat. “Nice place to settle down and get married with _our_ Warbler, I assume,” he said, causing both Kurt and David to choke on their mouthful.

Kurt took a deep breath. “It’s a bit early to be thinking about that, isn’t it?” he said, exchanging a look with Blaine who seemed just as lost as he was.

“Indeed,” David snarled, “I just started eating.”

Wes looked shocked. “David!”

Kurt slowly put his spoon down and frowned at the other man. “And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked slowly, his voice laced with contained anger.

“David,” Blaine said sternly, “McKinley is great, okay?”

“For his type, sure,” David said, pointing at Kurt with his napkin.

Kurt looked beyond angry now. “ _My_ type?!”

Rachel’s eyes darted between the two men with a frown, and the young girl dabbed her own napkin over her mouth. “Iiii…got to go to the bathroom,” she started, but the doors opened, letting the cook inside.

“Dinner…is served,” he said pompously and she pulled her chair back in place.

“Never mind, I can hold it,” she said happily, putting her napkin back on her lap.

As the different dishes were placed on the table, Kurt and David looked at each other in a stand-off, while Blaine was already covering his eyes at the display of testosterone.

Before leaving the room, the head chef bowed to the guests. “Bon appétit!” he said as he closed the doors behind him.

Rachel opened wide eyes. “Oh, Mexican food! My favorite!” she exclaimed.

Wes clapped his hands, waving at them all. “Let's not sit here with our tummies rumbling. Everybody dig in!” he called, and Rachel smiled at him.

“Don’t mind if I do, Wesley,” she said with a grateful smile before piling up food on her plate.

Kurt pulled a bowl of fries toward himself while Blaine started cutting his salad, his gaze still locked on David.

David, who was still obviously set on stirring things up.

“So if you two were to get married, it would have to be…” he asked nonchalantly as he slammed chicken wings in his plate.

“A fabulous gay wedding, yes!” Kurt snarled back, pulling the plate of wings toward him.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, is there, David?” Wes interrupted, throwing a pointed look at his friend.

David raised his hands, acting innocent. “Oh no, of course not,” he said, before smirking at Kurt, “that is, if your guests don’t get deaf because of the loud Gaga music!”

“David!” Blaine exclaimed, his fork clattering on his plate.

“No, no,” Kurt said, waving a dismissive hand, “we prefer to have robots to sing for us, like Vocal Adrenaline!”

“Kurt, please,” Blaine turned pleading eyes toward Kurt, his hand sliding on the cloth to reach for his hand.

“I only did that because I care about him,” David retorted defensively.

Kurt snorted. “I bet - private lessons or crazy, dragon-lead choir, I can see the dilemma.”

David slammed his hand on the table. “You wouldn’t understand! You didn’t see him when he arrived at Dalton in the first place!”

Not that anyone paid him any attention, but Wes took his head in his palm. “It’s so nice to have a quiet dinner now that we’re all together…”

As David and Kurt started a tug-o-war with the plates of fries, Wes decided to intervene.

“David!”

“Kurt!” Blaine called, trying to knock some sense into Kurt’s head.

Kurt turned his head to look at him, a confused frown on his face. “Blaine!” he replied in the same tone of voice.

“Blaine!” David called, obviously waiting for his friend to side up with him.

“Wes,” Blaine turned to his mentor, desperate for a diplomatic solution to all of this mess.

“David...” Wes repeated, his tone turning dark and ominous.

“Rachel!” Rachel called, feeling left out in the whole drama.

The plate of fries was not built to go through such a fight, and the whole contents flew in the air, covering everybody’s head.

Blaine abruptly stood up, fries stuck in his hair and caught in his suspenders, and he left without a word.

Kurt stood up too, throwing a judging look at David before leaving the room. Now if only he had a map of the gigantic building to find Blaine’s old room...

* * *

Blaine ran, letting his feet follow a path they used to know, until he finally reached his room.

Well - what used to be his room before Wes and David decided that Vocal Adrenaline would give him the proper training to be the best leader he could be.

He felt so many different emotions: embarrassed, at both Kurt and David’s harsh behavior - so undapper, really - angry, at not being able to bring back some peace, disappointed, at the disaster this reunion with his mentors was turning into…

He also felt exhausted - too many emotions at once, after being locked away from any real human interaction for so long - and a lonely tear escaped his eyes before he could wipe it away.

As the tear rolled down his cheek and landed on the bannister, bubbles started to appear around him and he took a step back. Trying to determine if he was indeed awake or if he was suffering from some kind of hallucination, born from his frustration, Blaine missed one of the bubbles suddenly growing and twinkling, until the bubble was right in in his face.

Fairytale music surrounded him, and a soft voice started singing.

_“Your fallen tears have called to me_  
 _So, here comes my sweet remedy,_  
 _I know what every Warbler needs_  
 _For him to live life haaaaappily…”_

Inside the bubble, a little fairy - an actual one, with wings and wand and all, even if the wand was strangely shaped - was growing and singing until she was Blaine’s size and the bubble popped and they were face to face.

Blaine gasped, surprised to say the least at her sudden appearance. The fairy gasped too, looking at him from head to toe and a slight frown appearing on her angelic face.

“Oh my dear,” she said, fluttering around Blaine, “look at you. You’re all…” she added, pulling at his suspenders and snapping them, “grown up!”

Blaine frowned at her and rubbed his chest where the suspender had snapped. “And who are you?”

She looked almost disappointed for a second, but quickly got over it. “Oh, sweet pea! I’m Cassandra, your fairy godmother!” she replied, pinching his cheek.

The irony of having a fairy godmother with the way David was behaving was not lost on Blaine, but he had been raised to be a gentleman, and he was not going to laugh in her face. “I…have a fairy godmother,” he repeated, doubt lacing his voice.

Cassandra put her finger on his lips. “Shush, shush,” she said soothingly, “I’m going to make it all better,” she added, before turning away, flicking her wand around. “With...just...a…”

Blaine rolled his eyes as she started singing - could it get any cheesier? And that was coming from him.

_“Wave of my magic wand_  
 _Your troubles will soon be gone_  
 _With a flick of the wrist and just a flash_  
 _You'll land a prince with a ton of cash_  
 _A high-priced blazer_  
 _Made by mice, that’s better_  
 _Some crystal glass tie pin,_  
 _And no more has been,_  
 _Your worries will vanish,_  
 _Your soul will cleanse,_  
 _Confide in your very own furniture friends!”_

With a flick of her wand - no, really, it was more shaped like a dildo than anything, it was making him lose his focus on the words she was saying - Cassandra effectively brought all of the furniture to life and Blaine had to step back from the vanity, because the drawer definitely just pinched his ass.

Cassandra flew around the room, making Blaine dizzy.

_“We’ll help you set a new fashion trend,_  
 _I’ll make you fancy, I’ll make you great,_  
 _The kind of Warbler a prince would date,_  
 _They’ll write your name on a bathroom stall,_  
 _‘For a happy ever after,_  
 _Give Blaine a call!’_  
 _A sporty carriage to ride to show the goodie,_  
 _Sexy man boy chauffeur, Cody,_  
 _Banish your blemish, tooth decay,_  
 _Cellulite booty will fade away,_  
 _And oh, what the hey,_  
 _Have a bichon frisé!”_

Out of nowhere, a little bichon frisé appeared and jumped into Blaine’s arms, its tongue lolling out of its mouth.

Blaine tried to interject something - anything - but Cassandra seemed to be on a roll, her golden hair flying around her as she waved and twirled.

_“Nip and tuck, here and there_  
 _To land that prince with the perfect hair :_  
 _Lipstick gloss, cheekbones blush,_  
 _To land that prince with a sexy tush,_  
 _Lucky day, hunk buffet,_  
 _You and your prince take a roll in the hay!_  
 _You can spoon on the moon_  
 _With the prince to the tune,_  
 _Don't be drab, you'll be fab,_  
 _Your prince will have rock-hard abs!_  
 _Cheese soufflé, Valentine's Day_  
 _Have some chicken fricassee!_  
 _Nip and tuck, here and there_  
 _To land that prince with the perf-”_

“Stop!” Blaine yelled, and that effectively silenced all of them - the wardrobe needed to be tuned, by the way.

As Cassandra and the furniture looked at him with expectant - and slightly offended - eyes, Blaine chuckled with embarrassment. “Look, thank you very much, Fairy Godmother, but I really don’t need all this,” he explained, and the furniture started muttering in disapproval.

The dresser ambled away, whispering “Fine, be that way,” while the chairs walked away, with angry mutters of, “We didn’t like you anyway.”

Before Blaine could say something to defend himself - sue him, but he didn’t deal well with disapproval, even from pieces of wood - a knock came from the door.

“Blaine?”

Kurt’s voice, worried and caring, soothed him a little, before he started remembering the dinner debacle. With another knock, Kurt opened the door, followed by Rachel who brought a bread roll.

The bichon frisé jumped on the floor to bark at the new people, and Rachel knelt to rub its ear. “Oh! You got a puppy?” she asked, before frowning in disappointment. “All I got in my room was shampoo!”

Cassandra was staring at Kurt with wide eyes and her jaw basically reaching for the floor. Blaine looked between them, and rubbed the back of his neck again. “Cassandra, uh, furniture,” he called, getting everybody’s attention, “I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Kurt.”

Now her jaw really reached for the floor, and she landed to walk closer to Blaine. “Boy- boyfriend? Wha-? What did you say?” she asked, eyes wide in obvious worry. “When did _that_ happen?” Her voice was harder all of a sudden, like the soft tone she had used up until now was a pretense.

Blaine reached for Kurt’s hand, trying to appease him, since Kurt looked like the only thing he wanted was to bolt out of the room - if not out of the school, the town, this universe really. “Kurt is the one who rescued me,” he said happily, smiling at his ‘hero’.

Cassandra batted her eyelashes at them, her mouth gaping open. “B-But…That can’t be right!”

Kurt rolled his eyes and pulled his hand away from Blaine. “Great!” he exclaimed, “more relatives!”

Blaine could feel the corners of his mouth dropping. “She’s only trying to help, Kurt,” he said softly, trying to keep his disapproval in check.

Kurt turned back, a big, fake smile on his face. “Good!” he replied, opening wide arms and reaching for their suitcases. “She can help us pack. Get your coat, dear, we’re leaving,” he added, and his voice has that final tone that really grated on Blaine’s nerves.

As he huffed, Kurt looked up from the suitcase. “What?” he asked abruptly and Blaine huffed.

Rachel looked up from the floor where she was playing with the puppy. “I don’t want to leave,” she whispered, but Blaine didn’t pay her attention, focusing on Kurt.

“When did you decide this?” he asked, clearly annoyed and unable to keep it from showing.

Kurt looked up, as if searching for an answer, before going back to folding his clothes. “Uh, shortly after arriving,” he said, turning his back on Cassandra.

The fairy looked at Blaine with wide eyes, still in shock, and Blaine reached for her. “Look, I’m really sorry,” he started to apologize, but she waved a glittery hand.

“No that’s all right,” she told him with a little pat on his hand, “I need to go anyway. But remember, dear,” she added, pulling a card from her corsage, “if you should ever need me, happiness,” she turned the card to let Blaine see the other side of the card, with her face on it, “is just a teardrop away.”

Kurt snatched the card and pocketed it. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically, “but we’ve got all the happiness we need. Happy, happy, happy,” he added for good measure, plastering a smile on his face.

Cassandra looked at him, her nose scrunching even slightly as she let out a delicate but hard laugh. “So I see,” she commented as she climbed back in her carriage. Cody, her Dirty Santa driver, leaned to the side to wink at the couple. “Let’s go, Cody,” she ordered and off they went, in a flash of glitter and bubbles.

Blaine stared at the empty spot where his fairy godmother had been before turning on his heels to face Kurt. “Very nice, Kurt,” he said, angry and confused at Kurt’s antagonism.

“What?” Kurt said, eyes wide under his frown. “I told you coming here was a bad idea,” he added with a pointed look at Blaine.

The curly-haired man rolled his eyes before putting his hands on his hips. “You could have at least tried to get along with my mentors,” he said, his tone nothing but accusing.

Holding a shirt in front of him to fold it properly, Kurt let out a snort. “Yeah, somehow, I’m not sure anything I would have done could have given me David dearest’s blessing,” he said, looking up and added absentmindedly, “even if I did want it.”

Blaine stomped his foot to the floor, startling Rachel and the puppy. “Do you think it might be nice if somebody asked me what I wanted?” he nearly shouted, tears gathering in his eyes, more out of frustration at the whole situation than out of anything else.

Kurt looked up, eyes softening - but Blaine knew his boyfriend: there was something in his eyes that told him that Kurt wasn’t about to apologize. “Sure, dear. Do you want me to pack for you?” he offered sweetly.

Too sweetly.

“You’re unbelievable!” Blaine exploded, throwing his arms in the air. “You’re behaving like a, like a…” he sputtered, and Kurt strode toward him, getting right in front of him.

“Go on, say it!” he shouted back, throwing one hand in the air to spur Blaine on.

“Like an uneducated, obnoxious gay!” Blaine screamed and Kurt smirked evilly.

“Here’s a newsflash for you,” Kurt said, voice cold and angry, “whether your mentors like it or not, I am an obnoxious gay!”

The puppy decided that it had to join the screaming match and started barking at Kurt. Kurt cocked one eyebrow at the puppy and glared at it with a resounding snap of his teeth.

The puppy yelped and sought refuge behind Rachel’s legs.

“And guess what, Warbler,” Kurt added, getting in Blaine’s face once more, “that’s not about to change!”

Blaine had looked angry before, but it looked like Kurt’s words had drained all of it from him.

“I’ve made changes for you, Kurt,” he said softly, his eyes stuck to Kurt. “Think about that,” he added before leaving the room.

Kurt dropped the shirt he had been folding - well, maiming would be more accurate - and put his head in his hands.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t alone.

“Very smooth, Kurt,” Rachel commented sarcastically. “‘I’m an obnoxious gay, arrgh,” she imitated him and Kurt sighed.

It felt like he had blown it, and big time, didn’t it?

* * *

On the balcony above them, David was nervously pacing and biting at his nails.

“I knew this would happen,” he muttered, and Wes rolled his eyes, never looking away from his book.

“You should - you started it,” he said good naturedly.

David huffed in denial. “I can hardly believe that, Wesley,” he said, using his best friend’s full name for good measure. “He’s the…the ogre, not me.”

Wes delicately snorted and turned a page. “I think, dear friend, you’re taking this a little too personally.” Finally looking up, he gave his friend a very judging look. “This is Blaine’s choice.”

David pouted at that, crossing his arms over his chest. “But he was supposed to choose the prince we picked for him, in order to make him a true Warbler leader and successful!” he exclaimed, rather childishly, if Wes could say so. “I mean, you expect me to give my, my blessings to that…thing?”

Wes frowned at that, his mouth turning into a thin line. “Blaine does,” he said firmly, “and he’ll never forgive you if you don’t.”

As David remained silent, Wes put his book on the table and walked closer to his friend. “I don’t want to lose our friend and protégé again, David.”

The other boy looked away, clearly hiding his own feelings about being separated from their friend for so long and Wes patted his shoulder.

“Besides, you act as if success is totally predictable,” Wes continued, a far-away look on his face. “Don’t you remember, when we were young? We used to run all the auditions we could…” he recalled, throwing an arm around David’s shoulder.

David let out a little smile. “Only eating ramen and smelling the flowers…” he remembered, letting the memories overwhelm him.

“Our first gig,” Wes said, getting emotional.

David shook his head. “It’s not the same! It’s not like Blaine and Kurt could get that successful on their own!”

He shrugged Wes’ arms from his shoulders. “I don’t think you realize that our little Warbler is soon to be engaged and tied to an abnormality!”

Wes walked away with a scoffed laugh. “Oh, stop being such a drama king.” he said, reaching for his book once more.

“Fine!” David shouted, throwing his hands in the air as if he gave up, “Pretend there’s nothing wrong!” Moving away in a strange, spazzing dance, David got closer to the window once again. “La, di, da, li, da!” he sing-songed, “Isn’t it all wonderful!”

Slamming his hands on the stone, David let out a heavy sigh. “I’d like to know how it could get any worse,” he whispered, swallowing a very manly shriek when Cassandra’s carriage popped out in the air, the door opening to let the fairy lean toward him.

“Hello David.”

Wes called from inside the room. “What’s going on?”

David looked between the expecting fairy and the inside of the room, worrying his lower lip for a moment. “Nothing, Wes,” he called back, “just my old rehearsal wound playing up a bit!”

Hopping in place for good measure, he chuckled a little. “I’m just going to stretch it out here for a little while.”

Cassandra flicked her fingers, making stairs appear under the opened door. “You better get in, we need to talk,” she said, her eyes cold and her voice even colder - it felt frosty, really.

“Actually, Fairy Godmother,” David said as he stretched his arms, “I’m off to bed.” Faking a wide yawn that hurt his jaw a little, David peeked at Cassandra, who didn’t look very impressed. “Already taken my pills, and they tend to make me a bit drowsy.” Smiling as gently as he could, widening his eyes to achieve a perfect innocent look, David gave a little curtsey. “So, how about…we make this a quick visit?”

Two scary, burly men came out of the carriage framing the door and staring at David. “What?” he barely had time to say before they grabbed him and threw him on the seat in front of Cassandra.

David found himself between them and looked between them with a scared frown. “Oh, hello,” he muttered before looking at the fairy.

“So, what’s new?” he asked as nonchalantly as possible.

Cassandra pursed her lips at him. “You remember my protégé, Adam Prince Charming Crawford?” she said, waving at Adam, sitting and sulking next to her.

David looked at the blond man with wide eyes. “Adam, is that you? My gosh,” he continued, looking surprised. “it’s been years! When did you get back?”

Adam straightened up, looking just as enraged as Cassandra. “Oh about five minutes ago, actually,” he said, coldly angry. “After I endured blistering winds and scorching deserts, I climbed to the highest room in the auditorium and-”

Cassandra put a finger on his lips, tutting at him. “Mommy can handle this,” she said before turning to David, a mad glint in her eyes. “ _He_ endures blistering winds and scorching deserts. _He_ climbed to the highest bloody room of the bloody auditorium, and what does he find?”

David shook his head, and Cassandra looked up, exasperated. “Some gender-confused bad boy telling him that his Warbler is already taken!”

David held his hands up. “It wasn’t my fault!” he exclaimed, “He didn’t get there in time,” he added, nodding toward Adam who looked deadly offended.

Cassandra wiggled in her seat, getting redder and redder in the face, until she turned to the driver. “Stop the car!”

The carriage screeched to a halt, and the lights seemed to get darker.

“David,” she started, her voice low and dangerous, “you’re forcing me to do something I really don’t want to do.”

David tried to look out of the window – if he was going to die, he wanted to know where his final resting place would be, so he could tell Wes about it as a ghost. “Where are we?” he whispered.

The window of the carriage the closest to Cassandra rolled down and David winced, ready to see some weapon aiming at him and firing and killing him in some gruesome way and-

“Hi! Welcome to Ballerina Burgers! May I take your order?”

David cracked an eye open, not believing his ears. Sure enough, a young girl in the fast food restaurant’s costume was smiling at them.

“My diet is ruined!” Cassandra cried out, “I hope you’re happy!”

Turning to the girl, she examined the menu. “Er…okay. Two Swan Lake wraps, no mayo – chilli rings…”

Adam leaned forward. “I’ll have the Petit Rat meal,” he told Cassandra and she patted his head.

“One Petit Rat meal, and, David,” she added, turning to the confused man. “Want anything? Curly fries?”

David could feel a nerve under his eyes twitching. “No, thank you.”

“A soft Entrechat taco then?” she offered, and David shook his head – this was getting more than surreal, but surely he was going to wake up anytime soon.

The girl held the bags of food up. “Your order, Fairy Godmother,” she said sweetly, before holding a very large and very pink tutu. “This comes with the Petit Rat Meal,” she explained, and Cassandra handed it to Adam.

“There you are, dear,” she said sweetly, and Adam squealed before pulling it up to rest on his waist.

The carriage drove away and as the two from NYADA started eating, David wondered what was going to happen to him now.

“We made a deal, David,” Cassandra told him, her mouth full – God, gossip moguls such as Jacob Ben Israel would kill to see the almighty godmother in such a position. “I assume you don’t want me to go back on my part, now do you?”

David let out a deep sigh, despair invading his veins and impairing his judgment. “Indeed not,” he breathed out.

Cassandra dabbed a napkin on her face before waving her wand, repairing her make up in an instant. “So, Blaine and Adam _will_ be together,” she said, her tone final.

David let out another sigh, wondering if this was indeed what was best for his own protégé. “Yes.”

Something of his doubts must have shown on his face, because Cassandra reached out to cup his chin. “Believe me, David, it’s what’s best,” she said, before pulling a box of curly fries from the bag. “Not only for your Warbler,” she added, stuffing her mouth with fries, “but for New Dalton.”

David looked away, slightly grossed out. ‘What am I supposed to do about the…ogre?” he asked, more to himself than to the fairy, but she decided to reply anyway.

“Use your imagination,” she said with a shrug, before nodding at her goons, who threw him out.

Shaking his head, David could hear the carriage whooshing away as he looked around him. He was not back at the school yet. Instead he was standing in what looked like a grubby alley in…Brooklyn?

Boy was he far from New Dalton…

Right in front of him, though, there was an even grubbier bar that David knew better than he would care to admit, and he was a smart boy – he understood what was Cassandra’s idea.

Knocking on the door, David arranged his blazer to hide his face from the passersby. The bouncer opened a little window and his eyes widened when they caught sight of him.

“Oh,” he muttered, before closing the window and opening the door. “Come on in, your Majesty,” he welcomed David in.

Just as he thought, the interior of the bar was dark and sad, with a piano playing in the background mostly covered by the ushered conversations.

David made his way toward the bar, hoping to catch the barman. On his path, he crossed a man in a dirty reddish and whitish tracksuit who looked at him with a frown.

“Do I know you?” he asked him, and David tightened the knot of his Dalton tie.

“No, you must be, uh, mistaking me for someone else,” he replied to the man before rushing to the bar.

“Uh, excuse me,” he called for the barmaid’s attention, “I’m looking for the Ugly Stepsister.”

The girl turned to face him, her black braid waving in the wind and her lips pursed in a grimace that must have been a permanent fixture on her face.

“Ah! There you are, Bree. Right.” David said, relieved to see that the former cheerleader was still working in this bar. “You see, I need to have…someone, taken care of,” he whispered and Bree leaned on the counter.

“Who’s the guy?” she asked, pulling a glass from the counter to wipe it clean (-ish).

David winced, thinking of Kurt back in the school. “Well, he’s not a…guy, per se.”

Bree raised one curious eyebrow at that and waited for him to be more explicit.

“Um…He’s a…a fabulous gay. From _McKinley_ ,” he whispered, but that didn’t stop the crowd from catching his words and gasping collectively.

Bree slammed the glass on the counter behind her and gestured at David to come closer. “Hey, buddy, let me clue you in,” she said, pulling at David’s tie to get him real close. “There’s only one gal who can handle a job like that, and frankly,” she added, looking around her, “she don’t like to be disturbed.”

David gulped, but really, he had no other solution. “Where could I find her?”

Bree sighed. “Your funeral. Follow me,” she added, gesturing at David to come on the other side of the bar and up a flight of stairs.

She knocked on a door, looked David up and down and with a shake of her head, left him there. David pushed the door open, looking inside but all he found was darkness. “Hello?”

“Who dares enter my room?” a voice asked from the darkest part of the room, smoky and feminine, alluring like a deep perfume.

“Sorry!” David exclaimed, holding on the door like it was his only hope out of the room, “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I’m told you’re the one to talk to about a… McKinley problem?”

From the dark spot, David caught the movement of a chair swiveling around, probably to face him, and in the ray of light coming from the streetlamp, a flash of red caught his eye.

“You are told correct,” the woman replied, her smirk perfectly audible in her voice. “But for this, I charge a great deal of money.”

David rolled his eyes – he had expected as much – and threw a black credit card on the desk between him and the mystery woman. “Would this,” he said nodding toward the card, “be enough?”

Red nails that looked like claws dragged the card toward the edge of the desk, before being pocketed. “You have engaged my valuable services, your Majesty,” she said, her voice now smooth and seductive. “Just tell me where I can find this swamp product.”

* * *

Back in their room, Kurt was unable to sleep.

Next to him, Blaine was lightly snoring, curled up on his side, and Kurt looked at his back for a little while. The bed wasn’t nearly enough for them both, but Kurt couldn’t stand the idea of sleeping away from Blaine, not after the fight that they had – it was the first time they had gone to bed without a kiss and a simultaneous skincare regimen.

Standing up as quietly as he could, Kurt took his environment in.

So this was the room where Blaine had stayed in when he had arrived at Dalton, under Wes and David’s care.

There was still some memorabilia from his younger years, making Kurt smile fondly.

There was a Warbler (a real, birdy one) automaton that probably sang when activated, some tiny robot toys, cups and prizes from polo competitions (but Kurt already knew what a rider Blaine could be). A puppet of a Warbler (the human kind) stood on the chimney, but when Kurt took it in his hand to have a better look at it, he activated…something, that made the toy speak in a squeaky and loud voice.

 _“Dear knight, I pray that you take this favor as a token of my gratitu-”_ it went before Kurt slammed his hand on its mouth.

Yeah, that rang a bell.

Looking around in the moonlight, Kurt observed the fine tapestries and the delicately carved woodwork before putting down the puppet on a little side table.

In his sleep-addled state, Kurt bumped against it, dislodging what was apparently a secret drawer that cluttered on the floor. Kurt winced, looking back at the bed to see if Blaine was still asleep. His boyfriend shuffled in the sheets, snuffling and snoring a little louder before going back to his normal breathing rhythm.

With a relieved sigh, Kurt picked up the drawer and its contents - a little journal, with an opened locket.

Wait a second.

A locket? Could it be young Blaine’s diary?

Worrying his lower lip, Kurt flicked the book open, and sure enough, on the first page, a childish hand had inscribed _Blaine Devon Anderson’s diary_.

Now that was just precious - surely Blaine wouldn’t mind him checking his childhood dreams, would he?

_Dear Diary,_

_Trent is having a slumber party tomorrow, but David says I can’t go. He never let me go anywhere after sunset…_

_Dear Diary,_

_David says I’m going away for a while._

_Must be some summer camp. Wes says that when the time is right, my Prince Charming will rescue me from Carmel and bring me back to my friends, and we’ll all live happily ever after._

Kurt looked up from the pages, throwing a look at Blaine. The young boy he saw in the pages was not that much different from the boy he had fallen in love with: dreamy eyed, trusting the best in people, hoping for a happy ending…

Was he Blaine’s happy ending?

The more they fought, the less Kurt believed that - he had never been totally convinced in the first place, how could he measure up to whoever that…Prince Charming was?

Looking back at the diary, he started noticing a repetition of words.

_Mr. Blaine Charming_

_Mr. Blaine D. Charming_ with more loops added to the letters.

Pages and pages were covered in variations of Blaine taking Charming’s last name - though it showed that Blaine didn’t think it through, there was no way someone’s last name was Charming, unless they came straight out of a fairy tale, it still hurt.

Because deep inside his own mind, Kurt had started hyphenating their names and it was rather dashing, if he might say so himself.

Luckily, a light knock on the door unrailed his train of thoughts.

Slowly opening the door to keep it from cracking, Kurt saw David standing in the hallway. “Your Highness?” he asked softly, sliding his body out to join the Warbler outside.

“Sorry,” David said, clutching his own hands, “I hope I’m not interrupting?”

Damn those Warblers, always so dapper. Kurt shook his head.

“No, no,” he replied, waving his hand, “I was just reading a, uh, scary book,” he added, thinking of the diary thrown back in the drawer.

David scuffed his toe on the carpet. “I was hoping you'd let me apologize for my despicable behavior earlier,” he said softly, looking apologetic.

Kurt frowned. “Okay…” he whispered and David chuckled, embarrassed.

“I don’t know what came over me,” he added and Kurt could certainly empathize. “Do you suppose we could pretend it never happened and start over?” David asked and Kurt blushed - God knew he wished they could put everything behind them, if only for Blaine’s sake.

“Look, your Majesty,” he started, but David raised one hand.

“Please, call me David.”

“David,” Kurt amended. “Look, I think we both acted like obnoxious ogres.” As David nodded, Kurt added. “Maybe we just need some time to get to know each other.”

David opened wide eyes and beamed at him. “Excellent idea! I was actually hoping you would join me for a early morning vocal warm-up? A little…bonding time?”

As Kurt looked torn, David added with a soft smile. “I know it would mean the world to Blaine.”

That was the last hit to the nail and Kurt sighed and nodded.

David looked thrilled. “Shall we say…by the old oak?”

* * *

Sunlight dappled the ground, tiny golden spots of light filtering down through the dense ceiling of leaves, and Kurt was fast losing all patience with Rachel rushing ahead, singing loudly to attract the attentions of other lifeforms. “Face it, Rachel, we’re lost!” he shouted, and Rachel turned to him with a frown, folding her arms aggressively across her chest.

“We can’t be lost!” she protested loudly. “I followed David’s directions exactly: head to the darkest part of the woods, past the sinister trees with scary-looking branches.” Dragging Kurt along and around a corner, she pointed and triumphantly cried, “See, that’s the bush that looks like Katy Perry!”

Throwing his hands up in despair, Kurt snapped, “We’ve already passed that three times!” and slumped down on the nearest tree stump, head in his hands.

“Well excuse me, but you were the one who didn’t want to stop and ask for directions!” Rachel retorted, adjusting her skirt and tucking her hair behind her ear, waving her phone around in a pathetic attempt to find reception. “Typical man that you are.”

“Wonderful!” Kurt proclaimed sarcastically. “This was my one chance to fix things up with David and you mess up so badly that now I’m lost in the woods with you forever!” Frowning at the ground and kicking a rock away to let out his frustration, he felt Rachel’s hand on his shoulder and looked up as she sat down. “Rach, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” he said after a long moment of silence, and saw Rachel forgive him in a smile, snuggling into his shoulder. “It’s all the fighting with Blaine, it’s stressing me out. I just want to take him back to McKinley so we can be happy.”

“Hey, you bond with David for a few hours, and then we can go back to Dalton, pack up our things and return home to McKinley,” Rachel said bracingly, nudging him and grinning. “I don’t really like the atmosphere there. It’s all very structured and robotic, and their arrangements are so flawless. I much prefer our approach to performing.” Putting an arm around her, Kurt started when a twig snapped somewhere in the depths of the woods.

“Probably just a squirrel,” Rachel said, though Kurt wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him or herself.

Whatever her belief, she screamed and grabbed for the nearest twig to use as a weapon when a silky voice said, “Wrong, beautiful. I’m just someone here to give advice. Call me a fairy godmother.” Pulling Rachel close protectively, Kurt ran his eyes over the new arrival. The woman was taller than Rachel - but who wasn’t? - and absolutely stunning, dressed all in red and black with a smirk on her crimson-painted lips. With one hand on her hip, she sashayed closer and smiled up at Kurt. “Well hello, handsome. Interested? Because Santana Lopez will be only too happy to fulfil your every desire.”

“I have a boyfriend,” Kurt said icily, pushing her away, and he saw the flare of recognition in her eyes. “Kurt Hummel, you may have heard of me. And my boyfriend is Blaine Anderson.”

“Well of course I’ve heard of you,” Santana observed. “A love story for the show choir age. But not one that’s going to end happily. You might have broken the curse, hotshot, but you imprisoned Blaine to a life in public school. He was born a Warbler, and he should be one. You won’t last. It’s just not a perfect fit.”

“How _dare_ you?!” Rachel shouted, stepping between the woman and Kurt, holding her phone like a weapon. “You’re lucky I’m not throwing this at your head. Kurt and Blaine love each other, I see it every day, and the curse wouldn’t have broken if Blaine wasn’t truly in love with Kurt.” Turning to Kurt, she said, “What are we going to do with her, Kurt?”

“Leave her here, we’ll see if she can find her way out again,” Kurt said with a smirk, and slipped his arm through Rachel’s. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take five steps before the woman started pleading, and Rachel turned wide, sad eyes on Kurt.

“Oh, no! _Por favor_! Please! I implore you! It was nothing personal, _señor_. I was doing it only for my family. My mother, she is sick, and my father lives off the garbage! The king offered me much in gold and I have so many siblings to provide for-”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Kurt shouted, spinning on his heel to face Santana, standing there with the most pathetic expression, eyes glassy with forced tears and lower lip quivering. “Blaine’s _mentor_ paid you to do this? David asked you to try and drive Blaine and I apart?”

“The rich king?” Santana asked, perking up. “ _Sí_!”

Letting a heavy sigh bluster past his lips, Kurt sat down on the tree stump again, pillowing his chin on his hands. Rachel sat next to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder that he reached up to take, mumbling, “Well so much for David’s royal blessing.”

“Aw, don’t feel bad, sweetie,” Rachel said reassuringly, nuzzling against his shoulder. “Almost everyone who meets you two thinks Blaine’s too good for you.”

“Gee thanks,” Kurt snapped sarcastically, not enjoying Rachel’s unique brand of comfort.

“You’re welcome,” she said sunnily, laying her head on Kurt’s shoulder and squeezing his hand.

Looking at his reflection in the water, Kurt twirled his brooch distractedly and said, “Maybe Blaine would’ve been better off if I’d been a Warbler.”

From her perch in the nearest tree, far enough away that Rachel couldn’t injure her for any unsavoury comments, Santana piped up, “That’s what the king said!”

When Kurt and Rachel both turned to glare at her, she ducked her head bashfully and mumbled, “Oh, sorry, I thought that was a question directed at me.”

“Kurt,” Rachel said, rubbing Kurt’s shoulder with a free hand and giving him a soft smile, “Blaine knows you’d do anything for him. You love each other so much, it amazes me constantly.” Remembering that Rachel was caught up in her own relationship drama, Kurt almost felt guilty about unloading all his woes on her, but now he’d allowed the gates to open he couldn’t stop.

“It’s not like I wouldn’t change if I could,” he insisted, pulling his hand from Rachel’s grip to fold his arms over his chest, kicking the water to shatter his reflection. That wasn’t the boy Blaine deserved staring back at him. “I just...I just wish I could make him happy.” Sitting back, he felt the crinkle of paper in his pocket, and reached back to withdraw the small business card. Running a fingertip over the embossed silver letters, he murmured, “‘Happiness...a teardrop away.’” Inspired, filled with a new desire to make things right with Blaine and with his mentors, he turned to Rachel and urgently insisted, “Rach, think of the saddest thing that’s ever happened to you!”

“Oh God, where do I begin?” Rachel asked, melodramatically putting her hand to her heart and pacing back and forth. “First there was the time I almost got my big break but contracted laryngitis and couldn’t perform! Then I got trapped at a party with the football team and they all kept throwing beer at me! Then they got drunk and started telling me to go to Isengard!” Turning around, she threw her hands up in frustration and shouted, “What is Isengard anyway?!”

Sighing heavily, despairing at Rachel’s tendency towards dramatic but rather wooden monologues, Kurt said, “No, Rachel, I need you to cry!”

“Don’t you start projecting on me!” Rachel scolded, even as Kurt saw Santana slithering down from her perch on the tree and creeping closer, a branch in her hands. “I know you’re feeling bad, but you gotta-” She shrieked when Santana hit her in the side with the branch, her eyes immediately welling up with tears. “You really hurt me! I’m _maimed_! I’ll never be cast in great romantic leads now!” Holding the card under her cheek, Kurt smiled triumphantly when a tear dropped down onto Cassandra’s smiling face, exchanging a sly smirk with Santana.

As he watched, Cassandra’s face rose from the card, enclosed in a small, shining bubble, and she cleared her throat and, smiling gently, the very image of the perfect person to provide the happily ever after Kurt so desperately wanted, said, “This is Fairy Godmother. I’m either away from my desk or with a client, but if you come by the office, we’ll be happy to make you an appointment. Have a happy ever after!”

Stifling a laugh at Rachel’s amazed expression, her fingers darting out to pop the small bubbles falling onto the grass, Kurt put his hands on his hips and quirked an eyebrow at her, asking, “Are you up for a little quest, Rachel?”

Bounding over, Rachel threw her arms around him, grinning from ear to ear. “Now that’s more like it!” she proclaimed. “Kurt and Rachel on another whirlwind adventure! _Ain’t no stoppin’ us now, whoo! We’re on the move_!”

With her arm linked through his, they started to walk away, before a hasty, “Stop!” brought them to a halt. Santana hurried to stand in front of them, blocking their path, bending forward a little in a slightly mocking bow towards Kurt. “Mr. Hummel, I have misjudged you.”

“Join the club, we’ve got jackets,” Kurt sighed, and Rachel laughed as they stepped to the side and straight past Santana.

“On my honour, it is my duty to accompany you on your quest and save your life, as you have spared mine,” Santana said, “and I know the way to Cassandra July’s infamous lair.” Kurt rolled his eyes, despite the interest in finally finding his way out of the forest. He did not need another dramatic woman tagging along with him, he had his hands quite full enough with Rachel.

Rachel echoed his thoughts a moment later as she said, “I’m truly sorry, but the position of annoying but lovable best friend has already been taken! Let’s go, Kurt!” But Kurt turned back to look at Santana, tilting his head in consideration as she pouted, opening her eyes wide and sad and tearful. “Kurt! Don’t you dare!”

“Rach, she knows the way to Cassandra’s lair, we can’t just wander aimlessly in the forest forever,” Kurt said, and beckoned Santana over to them. “Besides, she seems to know her way around flirting. It might get us out of trouble.”

“I can _flirt_!” Rachel insisted, a mutinous expression crossing her face.

“There’s a blushing bunny on your sweater,” Kurt said, raising an eyebrow at her questionable fashion choices. Rachel huffed out in annoyance and walked on ahead, leaving Santana to explain the directions as they walked.

* * *

Sunlight streamed over the bed through the curtains that had remained open when Blaine had slumped into bed the night before, miserable after fighting with Kurt, and Blaine rolled over, blinking himself awake. He reached over to touch Kurt’s shoulder, hoping to break down the wall that had built up between them since they arrived, but found the bed beside him empty.

Downstairs, preparations were in full swing for the hastily assembled dance to honour Blaine’s new relationship with Kurt. Presented with two almost identical choices for the red carpet to be rolled out in front of the school, David waved off Wes’, “What do you think?” and walked away when he saw Blaine coming, the guilt roiling in his chest.

“Wes, have you seen Kurt?” Blaine asked frantically, hoping Wes couldn’t tell that he’d spent half the night crying. “I woke up and he wasn’t there, and Rachel’s not in her room either. They didn’t say anything about going out today.”

“Sorry, Blaine, I haven’t seen either of them, but I’m sure they’ve just gone to blow off some steam,” Wes reassured him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “They’re not exactly used to this place yet. I’m sure they’ll start to like it. You should ask David, he was out and about disgustingly early this morning.” As Blaine hurried towards his second mentor, he heard Wes calling, “Use small words, Blaine, he’s a little slow this morning!”

“David!” Blaine called, worry for Kurt and Rachel growing with every step he took. “Have you seen Kurt? Or Rachel?”

“No, no I haven’t,” David said firmly, his voice uncharacteristically bracing as he said, “But I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure they just went off to find a raggedy auditorium and let off some steam. You know, after your little spat last night.”

“Oh.” Blaine deflated, the memories of all those horrible things both of them had said swirling around his head. “You heard that, huh?”

“I’m pretty sure the whole of Dalton heard you,” David observed. “After all, he’s from _McKinley_. It’s in his nature to be...well, a bit of a brute.”

“Kurt is _not_ a brute!” Blaine protested loudly, lowering his voice when people started to look over at them. “You know, you didn’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon! Maybe if you’d been a little nicer-”

“Well what did you expect us to do, Blaine?” David asked, his eyes flashing with fury, his lip curling in a slight sneer as he looked down at Blaine’s tight green jeans and the pink-and-white checkered bowtie resting at his throat. “I mean...look what he’s done to you.”

Blaine took a step back, shocked that his mentor would ever say something like that to him. “Kurt loves me for who I am,” he said softly. “I would think you’d be happy for me.”

“Blaine, as your mentor, I’m just trying to think about what’s best for you,” David assured him, taking Blaine’s shoulder to turn him around when he turned away to nurse his hurt feelings. “Maybe you should start doing the same.”

* * *

“So I went ahead and leaned over so he could see down my dress and next thing you know he’s telling me all his secrets,” Santana concluded triumphantly, and Kurt laughed, linking his arm more firmly through hers. Despite the shaky start, she seemed exactly the type of person he wanted as a friend, the perfect addition to their little dream team. Looking back over his shoulder, where Rachel had given in to the fact that she had no idea where she was going and walked behind them, Kurt stifled a laugh seeing her glaring possessively at Santana’s back.

They finally broke out of the forest, that had turned into towering skyscrapers somewhere along the journey, and Santana threw out her arms to present the imposing building before them, the doors shimmering silver in the sunlight. “Welcome to New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts,” she said. “Also known as the lair of Cassandra July, nicknamed the Fairy Godmother by those who both revere and fear her. Gentleman and lady, this is where you wanted to be. I can take you straight to her rooms, where she’ll be cooking up potions and spells to both give and take away happily ever afters.”

“Well why don’t we pop in there for a spell?” Kurt joked, and was gratified when Santana started laughing and pulled him onward, marching past the doors like she owned the place. As she pulled Kurt up to the desk, rolling her eyes at his admiring look for the boy’s suit, he politely said, “Hi, we’re here to see the-”

“Fairy Godmother,” the boy on the desk said without even meeting Kurt’s eyes, making another note on his clipboard. “I’m sorry, she is not in.”

The intercom next to him buzzed and a familiar voice filtered through the static. “Gavroche, bring me a coffee and a salad, now!” The boy sighed heavily, especially upon noticing Kurt’s pointed look.

“Yes, Fairy Godmother,” he said with a long-suffering roll of his eyes. “Right away.” Releasing the button on the intercom, he looked up at Kurt and said, “Look, she’s not seeing any clients today, okay?”

Santana laid a hand on Kurt’s arm and leaned close to whisper, “I got this,” into his ear. “Okay, handsome,” she said, smiling at the man and leaning on her elbows over him, no doubt giving him a good look straight down her dress. Pulling Rachel up next to him, Kurt pinched her in the side before she could protest Santana’s methods. “Look, basically this is my boyfriend, and I just really need something from the Godmother so we can have our happy ending, okay? I’m terrified he’ll run off with our friend here. You do that, and before my happy ending I’ll let you have a little taste of the Lopez.”

Gavroche waved them by, looking slightly dazed, and Rachel sidled over to ask, “Are you really going to have sex with him?”

“God, _no_!” Santana laughed, shuddering emphatically. “Even if I did like boys, I don’t go for skinny desperate theatre types.”

Rachel finally smiled, and linked her arm through Santana’s as the taller girl steered them around the corner, towards the firmly closed door gleaming around the edges with the glow of spells. Inching the door open, Kurt could see Cassandra standing over a vast silver cauldron, her face illuminated by the red glow of the potion she was stirring with an oversized wooden spoon. Pulling Rachel and Santana up to press their ears against the door, they listened to Cassandra laughing as she added ingredients to the potion. “A drop of desire...a pinch of passion...and just a hint of lust.”

“Excuse me,” Kurt said quickly, pushing the door open and fanning away the steam that overwhelmed him with its heady flowery scent. “Sorry to barge in like this, but I need your help, Cassandra.” The blonde woman crossed her arms and raised an inquiring eyebrow at him. “It seems that Blaine isn’t completely happy with me.”

“Oh-ho-ho!” Cassandra exclaimed, a smirk twisting her lips as she stepped down from the cauldron and to the shelves, running her fingers along the spines bound in colourful leather. And there’s some question as to why that is? Well, let’s explore that, shall we?” She pulled a book out from the shelf, a triumphant smirk on her face as she continued, “Cinderella. Here we are: ‘lived happily ever after.’ Oh...” She smirked down at Kurt. “No one from McKinley.” She took down another book, her eyes slightly crazed as she said, “Snow White...oh, no one from McKinley. Sleeping Beauty, no one from McKinley. Hansel and Gretel? No! Thumbelina? No. The Golden Bird, The Little Mermaid, Pretty Woman! No, no, no, no, no!”

With the books lying in a heap at her feet, she turned a face filled with rage on Kurt and shouted, “You misfits from McKinley don’t get happily ever afters!” Kurt winced away, and Cassandra’s expression immediately became pleasant once more. “Have a nice day. I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you.” Her eyes glinted cruelly as she watched Kurt, Rachel and Santana shuffle out of her office.

Outside, Kurt slumped against the wall, sliding down until he hit the floor. “Now what do I do?” he asked hopelessly, looking up at the two women standing above him. “If she won’t help me, what chance do I have with Blaine?”

“Leave it to me, boss,” Santana said with a slightly mocking salute, and disappeared around the corner, no doubt about to flirt her way into the depths of NYADA.

Rachel sat down next to Kurt, laying her head on his shoulder. “Do you think that’s really true?” she asked softly. “Do you think no one from McKinley can get a happily ever after?”

“Is this about Jesse?” Kurt asked softly, and regretted it when he saw the tears spring immediately to Rachel’s eyes. “Oh, Rach, I’m really sorry it didn’t work out with him. I know I never said it, with everything I was going through with Blaine, but I know he loved you. Maybe there’s still time to get what you had back.”

“No, no, I think it’s over,” Rachel said sadly. “He hasn’t even tried to talk to me since he left for LA. Obviously I’m just some high school flame he doesn’t want to take to the big city.” Putting an arm around her, Kurt pulled her against his side and kissed her temple softly, leaning his head against hers.

They sat in silence for a long time, their breathing matching and Rachel’s occasional sniffles the only sound, until alarms started blaring and they both scrambled to their feet. “Oh my God, what did Santana _do_?!” Rachel asked as the woman herself came screaming around the corner, a glowing red bottle held tightly in her fist.

“Run!” she screamed, grabbing Rachel’s hand with her free one and dragging her along as a crowd of NYADA students came screaming around the corner after them. The three of them ran and kept running until they barged out of the doors and back into the forest, able to disappear among the trees.

* * *

Cassandra stood at the entrance to her storeroom, watching the NYADA students fluttering around trying to clean up the spilled potions and torn spellbooks, all twittering over each other trying to make excuses for themselves. “I don’t care whose fault it is!” she screamed at the two boys who came up to her. “Just get this place cleaned up!” Whirling around, rubbing at her temples where she could just feel the migraine coming on, she added, “And somebody bring me something deep fried and smothered in chocolate!”

The doors clanged open, and Cassandra composed herself and smiled for her young prince as Adam swanned in, looking grumpy. “Adam, this isn’t a good time, dear,” she said, turning him back towards the door. “Those rejects from McKinley now have a thief in their midst, they broke in and smashed everything up. We can talk later, okay?”

“I’ll find him, Cassandra, don’t you worry,” Adam declared, eyes dark and brooding. “I shall challenge him to a duel. I will smite him where he stands. He will rue the very day he stole our publicity from us!”

“Oh calm down, we’re still going to be the ones to rescue the Lost Warbler,” Cassandra said, rolling her eyes at her young partner’s tendency towards melodrama. “We’ll take him back from the horrible life he must lead at McKinley. We just have to come up with something smarter.”

“Pardon, Fairy Godmother.” Cassandra refrained from a heavy sigh as she turned around to listen to that sycophantic assistant presenting the facts to her. “Everything is accounted for, except for one potion.”

Snatching the clipboard from Gavroche, Cassandra’s lips twisted up into a triumphant smirk as she found the neat letters spelling out the only missing potion. She looked up to meet Adam’s eyes and say, “I do believe we can make this work to our advantage.”

“Which potion is it?” Adam asked, reaching for the clipboard. Turning on her heel, Cassandra led the boy along with her to the offices, ready to put the first phase of her new plan into action. It was time to have a little meeting with David.

* * *

“‘Happily Ever After potion - Maximum Strength’,” Kurt read from the bottle’s label, watching the bright red liquid glow inside the boundaries of the glass. “‘For you and your true love. If one of you drinks this, you both will be fine. Happiness, comfort and beauty divine.’”

“‘You both will be fine’?” Rachel quoted with a disbelieving look on her face. “That’s the worst rhyme I’ve ever heard. I’m seriously starting to question NYADA’s reputation as the best creator of spells and potions.”

“No, dumbass, it means it’ll affect Blaine too,” Santana corrected, and Rachel folded her arms defiantly across her chest, glaring dirtily at Santana. Apparently their short moment of camaraderie had truly been short.

“Kurt, this doesn’t feel right!” Rachel insisted, eyeing the bottle in Kurt’s hand with distrust. “My prodigious feminine instincts are tingling all over. Drop that creepy magic voodoo and let’s get out of here.”

“It says ‘beauty divine’!” Kurt pointed out. “How bad can it be?” Popping the cork off the bottle, he sniffed the vapours curling up from the narrow glass neck and sneezed.

“See, you’re allergic to that stuff!” Rachel exclaimed triumphantly. “You’ll have a reaction. And if you think I’m smearing Vapor Rub all over your chest, you can think again!”

Pushing Rachel aside, Santana stepped forward and said, “Kurt, just in case there is something wrong with the potion, allow me to take the first sip. It would be an honour to lay my life on the line for you.”

“Oh no no, I don’t think so!” Rachel protested, putting herself between Kurt and Santana and snatching the bottle from Kurt’s hand. “If anyone’s going to be testing possible poison, I’ll be doing it. That’s the _best_ friend’s job!” A dreamy look crossed her face, and she added, “Besides, imagine how I’ll be mourned. My photograph in the choir room, everyone regretting the fact that they didn’t appreciate my talent enough, Jesse returning from UCLA mad with grief and wishing he had stayed with me...” She trailed off and put the bottle to her lips, swallowing half the small bottle.

“How do you feel?” Kurt asked eagerly, looking her up and down. Rachel looked down at herself, still in her short skirt, knee socks and bunny sweater.

“I don’t...feel any different,” she said slowly, running her hands down her sides. “Do I look any different?”

“You still look like the wet dream of a creepy Japanese businessman with a very dark and specific fetish to me,” Santana remarked, to a glare from Rachel.

Taking the bottle back, Kurt was about to drink when Rachel started talking again, loud and panicky. “Kurt, if you drink that, there’s no going back! No more dramatic Madonna duets or getting away with wearing corsets to school! No more people being scared of you! You’ll just be one of the crowd! Kurt, you love being at McKinley!”

“I know!” Kurt shouted, interrupting her monologue before she got any more dramatic. “But I love Blaine more.” He saw Santana roll her eyes when Rachel put a hand to her heart, eyes glistening with tears, and tried to think of Blaine as he drank. Now they could be happy and stay together at Dalton, both Warblers, exactly the way Blaine wanted it to be.

But nothing happened, and Kurt threw the bottle hard against the ground in frustration, trying not to cry. “Maybe it’s a dud,” Santana suggested brightly, putting a tentatively comforting hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

“Or maybe Blaine and I were never meant to be.” Looking down at the ground, Kurt swiped the gathering tears away, head jerking up as thunder rumbled overhead, lighting crackling somewhere in the distance.

“What did I tell you?!” Rachel shouted, smacking at Kurt with the end of his scarf. “I feel something coming on. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.” Immediately, she started melodramatically shrieking as the rain pattered down, cold needles against their skin. “I don’t want to die! Oh, sweet sister, mother of mercy. I’m melting! I’m melting!”

“It’s just the rain, Rachel,” Santana snapped, hauling Rachel up from her knees. “Come on, I know an abandoned barn not far from here, we can hide there for the night.”

“And what makes you think I’ll go anywhere with _you_?” Rachel spat, folding her arms over her chest, hair hanging lank around her face.

“Would you rather sit out here in the rain and mud all night?” Santana asked. “There’s lightning coming, and you’re surrounded by tall trees...”

Ten minutes later found them sprinting through the doorway of a barn, Santana leaning over to squeeze water out of her hair and clothes as Kurt collapsed in the scraps of hay, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face away from the two women. “Don’t worry,” came Rachel’s voice, her arm sliding around his shoulders. “Things just seem bad because it’s dark and rainy and David hired a sleazy hitwoman to drive you away. It’ll be better in the morning, you’ll see.” She began to sing, every few words punctuated by a yawn. _“The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow...”_

“Rach?” Kurt looked up, and staggered to his feet seeing Rachel passed out next to him, dead to the world. “Rachel? Are you okay?” Quickly, his eyelids started to feel heavy, his body sluggish as he tried to turn to look at Santana. “Santana? What the hell is going...on...”

The world went black.

* * *

Closing the final suitcase and giving the room one last cursory glance to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, Blaine hefted the suitcase into one hand to take down to the car and crept down the stairs, hoping to go unnoticed. He had no such luck, when David noticed him and called, “There you are! We missed you at dinner.” Noticing Blaine’s tear-filled eyes and the suitcase swinging from his hand, he asked, “What’s wrong, Blaine?”

“David, I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Blaine said slowly, seeing the questioning look Wes shot the other man. “And I’m going to set things right.”

“Excellent, we taught you well!” David declared with a grin.

“It was a mistake to bring Kurt here,” Blaine said, biting at his lip and swallowing back tears. “I’m going out to find him, and then we’ll go back to McKinley where we belong.”

Turning away, he didn’t see Wes mouthing _Look what you’ve done now!_ at David. As Blaine pushed the grand doors open, a wave of dizziness washed over him and he reached up to rub at his temples, feeling his eyelids drooping with sudden exhaustion. “Blaine, please, just stay in for the night, it’s far too dangerous out there right now!” Wes insisted.

Blaine looked back at his mentors, mere blurry faces now, black gathering at the edges of his vision. The suitcase fell to the floor with a clatter as he collapsed, unconscious and unresponsive.

* * *

_“Look, I told you he was here!”_

_“Oh my **gosh** , look at him!”_

_“Ssh, quiet, he’s waking up!”_

Kurt blinked himself awake with a groan, stretching out on the cold concrete floor. Rolling over, he let out a shout of surprise when he found himself looking into a pair of brown eyes, scrambling upright and away from the three girls sitting cross-legged on the ground, Santana behind them with a pained expression on her face. “Good morning!” all three said together, smiles sunny and eyes obviously giving Kurt appraising up-and-down looks. He’d never gotten so much attention before from either gender. Not from anyone but Blaine.

When Kurt tried to stand, he felt the pains of sleeping on such a hard surface in every muscle, the glare of the harsh morning sun right in his eyes, and collapsed back against a hay bale, groaning, “My head.”

The girl with the brown eyes tugged a tray over, pouring out a mug of coffee and pressing it into Kurt’s hand, biting at her lip in a flirtatious manner and giving him long looks from beneath her eyelashes. “So what’s your name?” she asked, her fingers brushing Kurt’s wrist as she handed him the mug. “I’m Tina, this is Marley and Kitty.”

“Um...Kurt,” Kurt answered, disconcerted by the obvious flirting. “Not to be rude, but...why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh for God’s sake, Kurt, _look_ at yourself!” Santana shouted, opening the blonde girl’s bag to loud protests and pulling out a mirror. Taking it, Kurt looked down at himself and almost dropped the mirror with a shocked yelp. Looking down, he took in the well-cut suit he was wearing and looked back up at Santana in fright.

“The potion worked,” he murmured, more to himself that to the women surrounding him. For a moment, he was disappointed, expecting to have been transformed into a Warbler. “Look at me, Santana. I look like I’m from NYADA!”

“You’re so hot!” Looking over at the trio, Kurt backed away from the blonde one, walking towards him with a predatory look on her face. “I’d like to take you home with me.”

“Um...listen, have any of you seen my friend?” Kurt asked, hoping to calm their flirting. “She’s short and loud and dresses like a schoolgirl-”

“Who are you calling a schoolgirl?” All five of them in the barn looked over to Rachel standing in the doorway, and Kurt saw Santana’s jaw drop out the corner of his eyes, her hands fluttering to smooth her hair and adjust her clothes.

“Rachel?” Kurt asked when he finally regained the power of speech. Letting his eyes flicker across Rachel’s ensemble, from her high heeled black boots to her crimson lipstick, he said, “You’re...well, you look-”

“I’m sexy!” Rachel exclaimed triumphantly. “Look at me, Kurt, I look so mature! I was always a noble companion - now I look the part! That’s some quality potion! What’s in that stuff?”

“‘Kurt, this doesn’t feel right!’” Santana mocked in a high-pitched imitation of Rachel’s voice. “‘My prodigious feminine instincts are tingling all over.’” Leaning down, she picked up the bottle that had ended up abandoned on the floor and flipped it over to read the label. “‘Warning: Side effects may include burning, itching, oozing, weeping. Not intended for heart patients or those with nervous disorders.’”

Despite concentrating on Santana, Kurt couldn’t help but look over when he heard Rachel singing _Sexy And I Know It_. Stopping her dancing, she looked between Santana and Kurt’s judgemental expressions and asked, “What?!”

Shaking her head, Santana continued skimming the label. “Oh, Kurt! ‘To make the effects of this potion permanent, the drinker must obtain his true love’s kiss by midnight.’”

“Midnight?” Kurt checked his phone - ten o’clock in the morning. “Why is it always midnight?” he asked, and Santana shrugged.

“I’ll be your true love!” Marley piped up, draping her arms around Kurt’s neck.

“Pick me, I’ll be your true love!” Kitty interjected, smiling and beckoning Kurt with a crook of her finger.

“I can be true...enough!” Tina said, giving Kurt a come hither smile

The trio all stood opposite Kurt, blushing and eager to be kissed, and Kurt took a step away from them. “Look, ladies, I already have a true love, and _his_ name is Blaine.”

“Why are the good ones always gay?” Tina wailed, kicking the wall as she turned away.

“And Kurt, take it from me,” Rachel said, sauntering over and taking Kurt’s hand, giving him a slow up-and-down look. “Blaine’s going to be _very_ pleased to see you.”

“Please don’t you start flirting with me too,” Kurt pleaded, and Rachel slid away from him.

“Okay, so now you’re easier on the eyes, but let’s face it,” she said, putting a hand on her hip. “Inside, you’re still the same corset-wearing, mean, sassy, fabulous boy from McKinley you’ve always been.”

“And you’re still the same annoying schoolgirl,” Kurt declared, rolling his eyes but unable to help a fond smile creeping onto his lips.

“Yeah!” Rachel agreed enthusiastically.

Looking down at himself again, Kurt flicked lint off his blazer and smoothed down his shirt. “Well...I guess we should be getting back to Dalton and finding my boyfriend,” he said, and Rachel and Santana both grinned. Turning to Tina, Marley and Kitty, he gave them a small smile and said, “I hope you ladies find your true loves too.”

With the sun bright above them, it was relatively easy to find their way back to Dalton through the forest, Rachel skipping along with a grin on her face, yelling, “Kurt, I look so good!” as she looked at her reflection in every puddle.

At the doors to Dalton, two young Warblers stopped them, and Kurt just grinned at them. “Tell Blaine his boyfriend came back,” he ordered, and the young boys nodded and disappeared.

* * *

Blaine awoke in his bed with his body aching. He couldn’t remember much of the previous night, only that he’d planned to find Kurt but for some reason hadn’t gotten further than the front doors. With a sigh, he rolled out of bed and stood up, pushing down the jolt of disappointment when he saw Kurt hadn’t appeared next to him overnight.

Pushing open the bathroom door, Blaine leaned over the sink to splash cold water onto his face. Looking up into the mirror, he saw himself in his old Dalton uniform and let out a scream of shock. From somewhere beyond the open window, he heard a faint trickle of Kurt’s voice shouting, “Blaine!” and his heart swelled with hope.

“Kurt!”

* * *

“Blaine!” Running through the school, leaving Rachel and Santana sitting on the steps lest they be stopped by guards for daring to be girls in the school, Kurt took the turning he was sure led to Blaine’s room and hefted the door open. “Blaine!”

But instead Cassandra turned to face him, smirking, hands on her hips as she tucked her wand under Kurt’s chin and cooed, “Hello handsome.”

“What do you want?” Kurt snapped, turning around to keep looking for Blaine, hearing his voice echoing weakly from another part of the school. But Cassandra flicked her wand and the door slammed shut, the click of the lock loud and harsh.

“I don’t like it when people steal from me,” she said, indicating Kurt’s suit. “I know you took my potion, Kurt. So I thought I’d make sure even a potion can’t give you a happy ending.”

Kurt turned away, grinding his teeth, and Cassandra put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” she cooed. “Don’t you want to see your boyfriend?”

* * *

Pushing the front doors open, Blaine hurried down the stairs, looking for his boyfriend. “Kurt!”

“Blaine!” Wheeling around at the sound of a familiar voice, Blaine felt his jaw drop when he saw Rachel sauntering towards him, another woman at her side. “Wow, that potion worked on you too!”

“What...Rach, what potion?” Blaine asked, feeling like his head was spinning with everything that had happened in just two short days.

“Well, Kurt and I took some magic potion and, well, now,” Rachel struck a pose, a triumphant grin on her face, “we’re sexy!”

Shaking his head, Blaine turned to the other woman and asked, “Do you know where I could find Kurt?”

“For you, baby, anything,” the woman said with a wink, and Blaine took a step back. “He went inside looking for you.”

Turning on his heel, Blaine ran back inside, calling Kurt’s name. Maybe he’d gone back to their room, he could find him up there and they could sort out this mess and go home. But Blaine’s path up the stairs was blocked by Wes and David coming downstairs, accompanied by a broad-shouldered blonde man. “Blaine, there’s someone we’d like you to meet,” David said, sweeping his arms out grandly and smiling. “This is Adam Crawford, he’s a student at NYADA. He’s come all this way to meet you and ask your permission to attend the royal ball tonight.”

Blaine was about to nod, too busy thinking about Kurt to be delayed too long by this, when Adam stepped forward and took his hand, raising it to his lips in a courtly gesture. “I wish to escort you to the dance tonight, sir, and see where the winds of change may take us,” he said grandly, smiling up at Blaine.

“I...have a boyfriend,” Blaine protested weakly, pulling his hand out of Adam’s grip. The man’s eyes narrowed, and David hastily stepped between them, slinging an arm around Blaine’s shoulders and pulling him aside.

“Blaine, this is your chance to really make something of yourself,” he hissed frantically, pretending not to notice the glare Wes was giving him. “NYADA is the best performing arts school in the country. You go there, you’re guaranteed fame and success and everything you’ve ever wanted.

“But I love Kurt,” Blaine murmured, a soft smile crossing his face when he thought of those days before they’d come here and everything had fallen apart. “This dance is supposed to be a celebration of our love for each other.”

“I know you love him now, Blaine, but times change, people _change_ , and he might not always be exactly what you want,” David said, rubbing Blaine’s shoulder reassuringly. “Look, you don’t have to run off and marry him tonight. Just...take him to the dance. See what happens. You won’t know what you want until you explore your options.”

Glancing back at Adam, grinning quietly at Blaine, Blaine sighed and said, “Fine. I’ll go to the dance with him. I don’t think Kurt’s coming back, anyway.” Hearing Kurt’s voice was just his imagination, the personification of his longing for the boy he fell in love with. Giving Adam a gracious smile, he lets the older man put an arm around his waist and take him inside.

Watching the brand-new couple go, Wes turned to David, the light gone from his eyes. “I know this was you meddling,” he said, resigned to the fact. “I’m very disappointed in you, David. Blaine is never going to forgive you.”

* * *

As Blaine disappeared into Dalton with that man, Kurt felt the tears slipping down his cheeks, slamming his palms against the window and shouting Blaine’s name. “Blaine, Blaine!” Cassandra mimicked in a cruel, high-pitched caricature of his voice. “I don’t think they can hear us, sweetheart.” She turned Kurt around to face her, pulling out a handkerchief and dabbing at his tear-stained cheeks. “Don’t you think you’ve already messed his life up enough?”

“I just wanted him to be happy,” Kurt murmured, more tears spilling over even as he tried to blink them back, not wanting to cry in front of the woman who had taken everything from him.

“And now he can be,” Cassandra said encouragingly. “Oh, sweetheart. Adam Crawford is exactly what Blaine needs. He’s finally found the prince of his dreams.” She smiled fondly down at the courtyard, and Kurt knew only pain would come from looking.

“But look at me!” He tugged at his new clothes, neat and stylish and meant to make him look like a NYADA student, look like what Blaine wanted. “Look at what I’ve _done_ for him!”

Cassandra shook her head, eyes sad as she laid a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. “It's time you stop living in a fairy tale, Kurt. He’s a Warbler, and you’re from McKinley. That’s something no amount of potion will ever change.”

“But...” Kurt lowered his gaze to the floor, looking around the room where they could’ve been happy, thinking about Blaine and everything they’d gone through, from that first glimpse of each other in Carmel to their first kiss, when he’d thought all their troubles were over. “I love him.”

“If you really love him, you’ll let him go,” Cassandra said, her voice soft and gentle even as she took away Kurt’s hope, took away everything. He knew that was what he had to do. He’d broken the curse, now he needed to give Blaine the same chance at happiness Blaine’s love had given him.

He left Cassandra standing in Blaine’s room, triumphant, and left the school with shoulders slumped, swallowing back the tears. Pushing the doors open and walking into the sunlight, he heard Rachel and Santana scramble to keep up with him, Rachel calling, “Kurt? What are you doing? Where are you going? _Kurt_!”

* * *

After getting Kurt to tell her what had happened, Santana hailed a taxi and took them to a bar she knew, promising to make Kurt feel better and muttering dark threats under her breath in Spanish as they took their seats and ordered drinks from the dark-haired bartender, who kept giving them suspicious looks when they flashed their fake IDs at her. “Just leave the bottle, babe,” Santana said, smiling at the girl in her uniform and filling her glass.

“Hey, why the long face?” the girl asked, lifting Kurt’s chin up to stare at his miserable expression. “Have one on me, honey. Just don’t tell my boss, or Bree here will be out of a job.”

“It was all just a stupid mistake,” Kurt mumbled, looking down into his glass with a heavy sigh. “I never should’ve rescued him from Carmel in the first place.”

Slumped on her stool, Santana gulped her drink and filled it again, mumbling, “I hate Mondays.”

“I can’t believe you would walk away from the best thing that ever happened to you,” Rachel said, gingerly picking up her glass and taking a sip. “You _love_ Blaine, Kurt!”

“What choice do I have except getting out now?” Kurt asked sadly, clasping Rachel’s hand when she squeezed his shoulder gently. “He’s going to fall in love with that pretty NYADA boy, Adam Crawford.” Neither of them saw the way Bree’s eyes went wide at the mention of Adam and she slid down the bar to listen to their conversation.

“Oh come on, he can’t be better looking than you,” Rachel said with an affectionate little smile.

“Are you kidding?” Bree asked, casting her eyes over Kurt. “Sure, not bad, but Adam Crawford has a face that looks like it was carved by angels.”

“Oh.” Rachel was clearly thinking about it, and she gave Bree a pacifying smile as she added, “He sounds dreamy.”

“You know, shockingly, sitting in a grubby bar with you two isn’t making me feel any better,” Kurt snapped, ignoring Bree’s indignant expression. “Look, guys, it’s for the best. Wes and David approve, and Blaine gets the man he’s always dreamed of. Everybody wins.”

“Except you!” Rachel exclaimed, leaning into Kurt’s space and grabbing his face, making him look at her. “Kurt, I don’t understand why you’re letting this happen. No one will ever love Blaine as much as you do, and he won’t love Adam as much as he loves you. You love him so much.”

“I do,” Kurt agreed, swallowing back tears. “And that’s why I have to let him go.”

The doors thudded open, and a cloaked figure swept in, creeping up to the bar as Bree sidled over to welcome the new arrival. “God, you get some shady characters in here,” Santana observed as if she wasn’t one herself, emptying the last of their first bottle into her glass and rapping her knuckles on the bar for a refill.

Kurt frantically shushed her and listened to Bree talking to the new arrival. He knew that voice. And then he caught a glimpse of the uniform hidden beneath the hooded cloak, and his blood boiled. “Outside,” he hissed, and linked his arms through Santana and Rachel’s to drag them out of the doors and around to the back of the bar, crouching beneath the open window.

* * *

Rearranging his cloak so no one would know it was him, David slithered through the dingy bar to the door into the back room, nodding cordially to Cassandra’s burly bodyguards. “Hello again!” he said politely, attempting a small, friendly wave. The two remained stony-faced, and David pushed the door open to find Cassandra and Adam both already waiting for him, Cassandra sitting with her arms folded, glaring straight at him.

“You’d better have a good reason for dragging us down here, David,” Cassandra said, lifting an eyebrow at David as he took a sit on one of the hard benches. “We both have to get ready for that dance tonight.”

“Well, I’m afraid Blaine isn’t really...warming up to Adam,” David said, putting it as tactfully as he could. He was sure he’d heard the words _hate him_ and _want Kurt_ being thrown around when he’d listened in to Wes and Blaine talking.

“FYI, not my fault!” Adam protested.

“No, no, of course it’s not, dear,” Cassandra assured him, putting an arm around his shoulders.

“I mean, I am doing everything I can!” Adam added, throwing his hands up dramatically. “How can I do anything when he’s still hung up on that stupid boy from McKinley?!”

“No, no, it’s nobody’s fault,” David said soothingly, attempting to regain control of the situation. “Perhaps it’s best for everyone if we just call the whole thing off, okay?”

“ _What_?!” David winced at the sheer volume of the twin exclamations, gulping when Cassandra gave him the most terrifying glare he’d ever seen. “I mean,” he continued hastily, “you can’t just _force_ someone to fall in love.”

“Oh, I beg to differ,” Cassandra said with a smirk, digging into her purse. “I do it all the time.” She handed David a small bottle, glowing pink with the potion inside, and ordered, “Have Blaine drink this and he’ll fall in love with the first man he kisses, which will be Adam.”

Taking the bottle in his hand, staring down at its tiny label listing the side effects in neat gold lettering, David thought about Blaine. He’d come to them as a child, someone infected with this strange curse, and they’d done everything they could to teach him about the life that awaited him when he was rescued from Carmel, the happy ending he would find. And he’d found it. Why were they trying to take that away from him? “No.”

Cassandra’s voice was dangerously cold when she asked, “What did you say?” as if she was simply daring David to contradict her and see the full force of her darker magical powers.

“I can’t,” he said simply, placing the vial on the floor and casting it a black look. “I won’t do it. I can’t do that to Blaine.”

“Oh yes you can,” Cassandra snapped, taking out her wand and pressing the glowing tip to David’s chin. As she spoke, the wand grew hotter and hotter, almost burning his skin, smoke curling up from the wood. “If you remember, I helped you with your happily ever after, and I can take it away just as easily. Is that what you want? _Is it_?”

David wanted to stop her. He wanted to move away and defy her and give his blessing to Kurt and Blaine, to the love Blaine had found by himself, the man who wasn’t the protégé of a psychotic meddling fairy. But then he thought about going back to what his life had been before Cassandra had stepped in and helped, and he couldn’t go back to that. “Fine,” he said bitterly. “I’ll do it.”

“Good boy.” Cassandra removed the wand, and David reached up to rub at his neck, sure there would be a burn mark. “And if we understand each other, we have to go. I have to do Adam’s hair before the dance, he’s hopeless.” She turned to Adam with a fond smile, continuing, “He’s all high in the front and he can never get to the back, he needs someone to do the back.”

They all looked over when they heard a squeak of, “They’re in _cahoots_!” from beyond the open window, and Cassandra’s face turned red with rage when they saw Kurt, Rachel and Santana hovering there, Santana’s hand clamped across Rachel’s mouth.

“Stop them!” Cassandra shrieked. “Thieves! Bandits! Stop them!”

* * *

“The abs are fab and it’s gluteus to the maximus here at tonight’s Dalton dance. The coaches are lined up as the cream of the crop pours out of them like Miss Muffet’s curds and whey. Everyone who’s anyone has turned out to honour Warbler protégé Blaine Anderson and his saviour, McKinley’s Kurt Hummel, and oh my, everyone looks fantastic. From NYADA to Carmel, the most famous have flooded here tonight. And here is the guest of honour: the one, the only, the Fairy Godmother, Cassandra July!”

Watching Sam out of the corner of her eye while Jacob Ben Israel talked on and on, Mercedes stomped on his hand when he went to grab the TV remote, smirking when he yelped. “Come on, I hate this, it’s boring!” he whined, and Mercedes rolled her eyes. It wasn’t easy, being surrounded by the boys who did not want to watch the live feed of the dance at Dalton. “Flip over, we might catch the end of Doctor Who!”

“I’m not flipping anywhere, _sir_ , until I see Kurt and Blaine!” Mercedes said firmly, putting her feet up on the coffee table and helping herself to the biscuit tin in Brody’s lap.

“We interrupt this programme for an emergency report,” came the announcer’s voice, and they all looked up only to drop their drinks and snacks when Rachel’s face bloomed onto the screen. “Three people, two women and a man, have been arrested for attempting to break into Dalton. Their insistence that they are friends of Blaine Anderson is being ignored as prisoners have proved hostile and twice tried to escape police officers with violence. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming, where my colleague has an exclusive interview with Blaine Anderson’s new dancing partner, Adam Crawford.”

Puck’s jaw dropped as he stared at the screen, eyes wide. “Badass!” he exclaimed suddenly. “Oh my God, Kurt and Rachel got arrested and picked up a hot travelling companion! They are so awesome.”

Reaching for the magazine on the table, Mercedes rolled it up and smacked him over the head with it, ignoring his yelling for her to stop. “Are you an idiot?!” she asked, punctuating every word with another smack. “Some imposter is taking Blaine to the dance and Kurt and Rachel are going to get handcuffed in the Dalton tower! We have to go and help them!”

Stuffing her feet into her shoes, she snatched her coat from the rack and pushed the boys out before her, climbing into the car and starting the engine. They shot like a bullet into the night, weaving down the road towards Dalton.

* * *

Blaine looked up when he heard a knock on his door, calling, “Come in,” as he flicked on the light over his mirror and leaned in to adjust his bowtie. Green sílk, the same one Kurt had made for him when they’d made the first journey from Carmel to Dalton. Things had seemed so simple then.

“I thought you’d be in here,” David said with a soft smile, setting the tray down on Blaine’s nightstand and stirring sugar into the mugs of tea. “Do you need a little something to get you through tonight? You’ve been looking awfully tired lately. I worry.”

“I’m not going to the dance,” Blaine said softly. “Not if Adam’s going to be there. David, he’s nice enough, but I don’t want him. I love Kurt. And he’s so dismissive of that. He keeps talking about what’ll happen when I go back to NYADA with him, like he just expects me to go with him.”

“He’ll change,” David said confidently, smiling reassuringly. “People change for the ones they love, Blaine. You know that better than anyone.” He nodded at Blaine’s ensemble, with a soft, “I really like that bowtie.”

“Kurt made it,” Blaine said with a soft smile, letting his fingers slide over the soft fabric. Blinking back tears, he murmured, “I’d give anything to have him back.”

Blaine reached for a mug, only to have David knock his hand back. “That one’s mine,” he said, hastily snatching it up. “Decaf. Otherwise I’ll be up all night.” With a shrug and a smile, Blaine picked up the other mug and took a long drink.

* * *

Kurt glared at his shiny shoes, as the guard attached the shackle around his wrists.

“I’d say I’m sorry,” Santana said as she practically put her breasts in the guard’s nose, “but I’m not good with lies.”

The guard blushed but managed to smirk. “Good - lies are the only way out of this cell,” he said before getting a firm slap on the back of his head by another guard.

Rachel was not as quiet, thrashing and shaking her head.

“I got to get out of here!” she screamed, making the guard attaching her ankles wince, “I got to get out of heeeere! And careful with those shoes, I just got them!” she screeched at the guard as he clamped the shackle.

As the guards started leaving, she kept on shouting. “What about my Miranda rights?” she said, and the guard rolled his eyes at her. “You’re supposed to say I have the right to remain silent!”

“Rachel?” Santana interrupted her, her voice low and laced with poisonous thoughts.

“Hm?”

“You have the right to remain silent,” she added, her lips stretching into a smirk, “what you lack is the capacity.”

Kurt rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “I must hold on before I, too, go totally mad.”

“Kurt? Rachel?”

Kurt sighed. “Too late.”

Santana looked at him and at the door, on Kurt’s right. “No, Kurt, look,” she whispered, “here comes the cavalry!”

Kurt twisted his head to get a glimpse, and sure enough, in the window on top of the door, Mercedes and Brody were trying to squish their heads, with Sam, Jake and Ryder calling behind them.

“Oh, you guys,” he said, trying to hide how moved he was. “Get us out of here!”

Mercedes turned her head, and with a determined look on her face, went away for a second, coming back with one of the prison’s guard.

“How do we open the door?” she asked and the man shook his head.

“I’m not telling you anything.”

Sam slapped him. “What about now?”

“Nothing.”

Jake took a step forward, giving him a couple of slaps. “What about now?”

“Ouch,” the guard said, before frowning. “Not a word.”

Ryder took a step forward, raising a chair above his head. “What about now?”

The guard opened wide eyes. “Holy macaroni, you McKinley kids really are nuts - okay, okay, I’ll talk!” he squealed when all of them advanced on him. “You need to lie to the door to open it!”

Brody took a step toward the door. “Leave it to me, I got this,” he said smoothly and they all took a step backward.

“Now, what should I lie about?” he mused, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

“Anything, but quick!” he shouted and he could hear the tall man muttering under his breath.

As he kept muttering, Santana shouted. “Say something crazy, like I wear ladies’ underwear!”

Brody looked at her in the window and, taking a deep breath…

“I am wearing ladies’ underwear.”

Nothing happened.

Santana looked at the ceiling. “Well that was anticlimactic.”

Kurt glanced at the door with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Are you?”

Brody opened wide eyes. “Am not!”

And the door slid open.

Mercedes strolled in, juggling with the keys, smacking Brody’s ass on her way. “You’ll have to tell me what kind,” she said with a wink as she went to open all of their shackles.

Kurt rubbed his wrists and smoothed down his blazer. “Now come on!” he called, “we have to stop that kiss!”

Rachel and Santana exchanged a look. “I thought you said you were going to let him go,” Rachel said softly, and Kurt turned to look at her, his eyes bright and serious.

“I was,” he replied, “but I can’t let them do that to Blaine.”

Santana punched the air. “That’s what I like to hear!” she exclaimed happily, before sobering up. “But how do you intend on taking over the castle?”

* * *

Lead by Kurt, they all approached discreetly, and they could hear the party going wild.

“Alright, guys,” he said, putting his hands on Santana and Brody’s shoulders, “let’s crash this party.”

Since the guards were all watching their little televisions, it was easier to get inside than they had thought.

Unfortunately, some of Cassandra’s sycophants were on the look-outs, and the minute Kurt entered the Grand hall, they raised the alarm.

Kurt looked, powerless, as more and more students filled the hall, but he could see an open door leading to the ballroom - he had to try.

But he couldn’t leave his friends behind.

Santana turned to look at him, putting herself between Kurt and the approaching guards. “Go! Go!”, she called, taking her coat off. “Your gentleman needs you! Go!”

Kurt looked at her and nodded before running away.

“Today,” she whispered, applying a coat of lipstick on her lips, “I repay my debt.”

Twirling on her feet, she faced the guards who stopped in their tracks.

For there she stood, all of her curves in display and her mouth in a pleading pout.

“Aww,” they all sighed in adoration, not realizing when she pulled a pepper spray out of her cleavage.

“On guard!” she yelled, followed by the other students from McKinley, Ryder using his chair to smack some of them out of their way.

* * *

Jacob Ben Israel raised the megaphone to his lips again and announced, “Ladies and gentleman, presenting Blaine Anderson of New Dalton and his escort, Adam Crawford of the New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts, better known as NYADA.”

Blaine had to fight the urge to just pull out of Adam’s grip and leave, especially seeing him waving and blowing kisses to the cheering crowd. “Play the part, Blaine,” Adam insisted, and Blaine pulled away from him, ignoring the shocked gasps running around the room.

“You are just...” He trailed off, staring at Adam’s face. “Is that glitter on your lips?”

“Cherry-flavoured,” Adam said with a pleased little smirk, and grabbed Blaine’s wrist to pull him closer. “Want a taste?”

“No!” Yanking his wrist out of Adam’s grip, Blaine turned away to storm up the stairs and get out of the party while he still could.

But the spotlight landing on him stopped him, as Cassandra called, “Ladies and gentleman, I’d like to dedicate this next song to the lovely Blaine Warbler and Adam Crawford.”

“Blaine, will you at least honour me with one dance?” Adam asked, and Blaine sighed even as he nodded politely and took Adam’s proffered hand.

If only Kurt was here.

* * *

Shoving the doors open, watching his friends spill down the sweeping staircase and into the party, Kurt found Blaine immediately. A soft smile crossed his face when he saw the bowtie he’d once made for his boyfriend around his neck, but then he saw the man with his arms around Blaine, and his expression immediately hardened into a glare. “Hey you!” he shouted, storming down the stairs, refraining from rolling his eyes when Rachel and Santana scurried back from the drinks table to stand either side of him like menacing bookends. “Back away from my boyfriend!”

“Kurt!” Blaine smiled, and the world lit up again, as Kurt watched his boyfriend leave Adam’s arms and run across the room for him. He was almost close enough to touch when suddenly he was enveloped by a large bubble and dragged away, frozen inside his prison.

“Blaine!” Kurt shouted desperately, following the bubble until it floated up high and out of his reach. “No!” Whipping around to see Cassandra smirking darkly, her wand in one hand, he screamed, “You’re a monster!”

“There’s only one monster in this room,” she said, and then looked to Kurt’s friends, her lip curling in disdain. “Well...nine monsters, I suppose.” She flicked her wand and Rachel was suddenly flung back against the wall. “None of this would’ve happened if you’d just gone back to McKinley and left well enough alone!” Cassandra shrieked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“Now!” Kurt shouted, and immediately Sam, Ryder and Jake left the buffet and ran at Cassandra, all letting out war cries as they jumped on her, grappling to get the wand. But she dodged all of their flailing limbs, and with a flick of her wand they were thrown off her, tiny flames popping out all over their clothes.

Running over to help a dazed Rachel to her feet, Kurt watched Puck charge at Cassandra, head down and ready to take the wand by brute force. Under the guise of checking Rachel’s face for bruises, he hissed, “You and Santana, round the back,” and she nodded, linking her arm through Santana’s and pulling her into the disguise of the wide-eyed crowd.

Kurt couldn’t help but wince when he saw Cassandra punch Puck right in the face and shove him off her. Brody and Mercedes advanced, but it was clear they weren’t going to get her wand. It was so protected, after all, clutched to her side and slightly behind her. Too bad she didn’t really have eyes in the back of her head, as Rachel grabbed it out of her hand and her and Santana ran before they could be grabbed.

Rolling his eyes at how pleased with themselves they looked, Kurt ruffled Rachel’s hair fondly as she ran past him, yelling out, “Pray for mercy from Rachel and Santana!” Perhaps she was getting a little carried away in her role as the heroine of the hour.

Pointing the wand at the bubble above Kurt’s hand, Santana gave it an experimental flick and it popped, Kurt catching Blaine before he hit the ground too heavily, steadying him and smiling down into his eyes. “Hi,” he murmured, and Blaine grinned.

“Hi,” he whispered back, and Kurt was about to kiss him, the two of them safe at last, holding Blaine in his arms for the first time in days and running a thumb along his cheekbone.

“He’s taken the potion!” Cassandra shouted. “Kiss him now!” An inhuman cry of despair was ripped from Kurt’s throat when Adam grabbed Blaine’s hand and pulled him into a kiss.

Kurt had lost him, he knew it, as the kiss broke and Blaine smiled at Adam as if he’d found the eighth wonder of the world, cupping his cheek gently. The crowd were all leaning over each other to stare, and the sympathetic wounded sound was loud when Blaine brought his fist up into Adam’s stomach, sending him staggering back, gasping for breath.

“David!” Blaine’s face fell as he realised the role his beloved mentor had had in the plan to tear him away from Kurt, and Kurt slipped a comforting arm around his waist and kissed his cheek as Cassandra stormed over to David. “You were supposed to give him the potion!”

David had a triumphant smirk on his face, his eyes pleading for Blaine to forgive him when he glanced over before smugly saying, “Well, I guess I gave him the wrong tea.” Kurt breathed out in relief, and swept Blaine into his arms, Blaine grinning up at him with nothing but love in his gaze. Then Adam decided to throw a wrench in all their plans by snatching the wand from Santana’s unsuspecting grip and throwing it back to Cassandra.

Her face was all wild, unbridled fury as she rose up in front of Kurt and Blaine, the tip of her wand glowing white hot, her voice thick with rage as she shouted, “I told you people from McKinley don’t get happily ever afters!” A long jet of white light sprang from the end of her wand, and Kurt tried to snatch Blaine out of the way.

“David!” A long yell echoed around the hall as David threw himself in front of the light and hit the ground. Blaine immediately dropped to his knees at his side, Kurt sliding next to him to comfort him with soft reassuring whispers and kisses, while his friends all ran for Cassandra, dropping back to the ground with a smug look on her face.

Someone in the crowd was laughing, various others whooping and cheering encouragingly, as Ryder smashed Cassandra over the head with his chair, slamming her to the ground, and Brody held her down. Kurt would admit that it was funny, seeing the all powerful Fairy Godmother being stopped by those she called monsters, Santana spraying pepper spray in her eyes and Mercedes slapping her across the face for good measure. “Arrest her!” Wes called, and Warblers bloomed out of the crowd to put Cassandra in chains and handcuffs and march her away to the dungeons.

Rubbing Blaine’s back in reassuring circles as he cried, Kurt looked down at David’s still body, the smoke from the magic curling up from his skin. That jacket he was wearing, red and white, looked somehow familiar. He realised it at apparently the same moment Rachel did, as she shrieked, “Oh my God, he’s a _Cheerio_!” as David awoke and rolled over with a groan.

Looking around at the crowd as he sat up, David looked down, ashamed, and said, “I’d hoped you would never see me like this.”

“And he gave you a hard time!” Rachel shouted, staring down at David in disbelief. “You, sir, are a hypocrite!”

“Rachel!” Kurt hissed in reprimand, but David held up a hand to silence him.

“No, no, she’s right, I am sorry,” David said, giving Kurt a welcoming smile. “To both of you. I only wanted what was best for Blaine. But I can see now...he already has it.” Blaine nodded eagerly, squeezing Kurt’s hand and laying his head on his shoulder. “Kurt, Blaine, can you accept an apology from a humiliated cheerleader? And have my blessing.”

“David?” David looked up at Wes with a sad look on his face, standing up and straightening out his cheerleading uniform. Kurt had to hide his grin in Blaine’s hair, seeing Mercedes smack Sam when he giggled.

“I’m sorry, Wes,” David said, turning away from his friend. “I just wish I could be the man you thought I was. The man Dalton deserves.” He started to walk away, but Wes grabbed his shoulder to stop him, giving him a grin.

“You’re more that man today than you’ve ever been,” he said gently. He chuckled as he looked down at David’s hands, and added, “Pom poms and all.”

The clock above the stairs began to chime, and Santana called, “Kurt! The Happily Ever After potion!”

“Midnight!” Standing up and helping Blaine to his feet, taking his hands, Kurt asked, “Blaine, is this what you want? To stay this way forever - a Warbler and a NYADA student? Because if you kiss me now, we can stay like this.”

“You’d do that?” Blaine asked, and Kurt nodded firmly. “For me?” An even more decisive nod. Looking up into his eyes like he was seeing him for the first time, Blaine said, “I want what everyone wants. To live happily ever after.” Squeezing his hands, Kurt leaned in to kiss him, but Blaine put a finger to his lips to stop him, adding, “With the boy from McKinley I fell in love with.”

The twelfth chime echoed around the room, and Kurt smiled in relief, eyes bright with love as the light bloomed around them, enveloping them the same as it did to Rachel as Santana murmured, “No matter what happens, I will not cry. You cannot make me cry!” a second before dissolving into tears. The light went impossibly bright for a second, and then they fell back to the ground, once more in their bright clothes, and Kurt heard Rachel let out a long, heavy, sad sigh.

“Hey,” Kurt said softly, and reached over to squeeze her hand. “You still look like a noble companion to me.” Rachel smiled gratefully at him, and Blaine reached up to kiss his cheek, as close to the corner of his mouth as he could get. Turning back to Blaine, eyes glinting mischievously, Kurt slid his arms around Blaine’s waist and murmured, “Now, where were we?” Blaine’s arms wound around his neck, and before Kurt could get out, “Oh, I remember,” Blaine had kissed him, cheers and wolf-whistles echoing around the room.

Coming down the stairs, wiping her tear-filled eyes, Santana leapt up onto the stage and yelled, “Hey!” into the microphone, loud enough to shake the walls. As everyone turned to look at her, she called, “Aren’t we supposed to be having a fiesta?” to loud cheering and whooping as the music started and Rachel took the other microphone, grinning into the crowd.

 _“I’ve been hearing your heartbeat inside of me_  
 _I keep your photograph beside my bed_  
 _Livin’ in a world of fantasies_  
 _I can’t get you out of my head_ \- Sing it, Rach!”

_“I’ve been waiting for the phone to ring all night_  
 _Why you wanna make me feel so good?_  
 _I’ve got a love of my own, baby_  
 _I shouldn’t get so hung up on you.”_

Spinning Blaine under his arm, Kurt laughed seeing his friends dancing in their various combinations, pulling people out of the crowd to dance with them.

_“I remember the way that we touched_  
 _I wish I didn’t like it so much, oh_  
 _I get so emotional, baby_  
 _Every time I think of you_  
 _I get so emotional, baby_  
 _Ain’t it shocking what love can do!”_

Out of the crowd, Bree snuck up on Adam, twirling him into a passionate dance before he could say anything or protest.

_“I gotta watch you walk in the room, baby_  
 _I gotta watch you walk out, mm-hmm_  
 _I like the animal way that you move_  
 _And when you talk, I just watch your mouth.”_

* * *

The party was long over and almost everyone had gone to bed, but the group from McKinley still remained, perched on the tables and chairs and drinking what remained from the bar, under the barmaid’s fond but watchful eye. Santana was sitting with her arm around Mercedes, laughing with her and Brody, but Rachel was still standing sadly at the microphone, softly singing, _“All by myself, don’t wanna be all by myself anymore...”_

“Oh Rachel, lighten up!” Jake shouted, punching her lightly in the shoulder. “We did it, we saved the day, we brought our favourite couple back together and everything is wonderful again!”

“Except for that guy being a cheerleader,” Sam put in. “Did not see that coming.” Rolling their eyes, Mercedes and Santana both reached over to slap him. “Ow, _ow_ , what? I’m trying to be accepting of sudden plot twists!”

A familiar roar sounded outside, and Rachel’s face filled with hope. The doors slammed open, and Jesse stumbled in, shaking his hair free of his helmet and babbling, “I was only there for a week before I realised I couldn’t do it without you, Rachel, I love you, and I’ve been travelling for days to get here and I went to McKinley but you weren’t there so I thought I could check here and you are here and you’re my girlfriend and I have something to ask you.”

The gasp of shock was universal when Jesse dropped to one knee and pulled a black box out of his pocket, opening it to reveal a silver ring set with a large diamond. Something Rachel would absolutely appreciate, tears springing to her eyes as Jesse said, “Rachel Berry, I love you and I want to spend my life with you. I want to give you the lead in every duet and connect you with influential people I know and watch your Broadway debut and have us become a well-known Broadway power couple and revere you every day for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”

Clasping Blaine’s hand in his, Kurt stifled a laugh when Blaine pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to a teary-eyed Puck as Rachel shrieked, “Yes, yes! I’ll marry you!” and threw herself into Jesse’s waiting arms, kissing him enthusiastically. So much so that they all politely averted their eyes.

“So much for ‘people from McKinley don’t get happy endings’,” Blaine whispered, and Kurt smiled and clinked his glass against his boyfriend’s. Blaine looked up at him with tenderness in his eyes and added, “I got mine the day a strange knight with a female travelling companion rescued me from Carmel.”

Smiling, Kurt leaned down, hands finding Blaine’s slender waist, and kissed his happy ending.


End file.
